The beginnings of the Shadow
by Ocadioan
Summary: The first story of my A dance of Shadow and Light series. It starts right after Brisingr, where Eragon is transported by Angela to our world to find someone to aid them. Who he ends up finding is quite different than anyone could have ever imagined, but will he end up changing the fate of Alagaësia forever for the better or the worse? Warning My OC's morals differ greatly from norm
1. Hope among loss

**Starting information(you might want to read this):  
**_Italic spelling means that the person is either thinking to himself or sending thoughts to others_  
"**Fat spelling inside quotation marks means that the character is speaking in the Ancient language**"  
"_Italic spelling inside quotation marks means that the character is speaking in the dwarven language_"

Furthermore I will be updating this story every Wednesday and Saturday.

* * *

**Hope among loss**

**Eragon POV  
**Eragon was walking down the streets of Feinster, it was the morning after Feinster had fallen, Arya had killed a shade and his mentors' had died. The only other people on the streets of Feinster were the Varden soldiers, who were busy either extinguishing the burning homes or carrying the wounded and dead. No happy noise from children playing or merchants setting up shop could be heard and in a way Eragon liked it like this, it seemed like the city was mourning his mentors' death as well.

_Little one, why do keep wandering those empty streets with no purpose?_, Saphira's voice resonated in Eragon's head. Although she tried to hide it, Eragon could clearly distinguish the pain in her voice.

_What would you have me do? When Oromis and Glaedr lived, I always knew that if we ever were in need of guidance or instructions, then they would assist us, but now Oromis is no more and Glaedr is lost in his despair and we need their guidance now more than ever, _Eragon said with a voice full of hopelessness.

_Wandering those streets won't bring Oromis back or help Glaedr come out of his shell, so why don't you join me for a flight? In the sky all the problems of the world will go away, I promise, _Saphira countered.

Sensing a lost cause, Eragon agreed to her proposal and within minutes they were soaring through the sky. They were not doing any aerial manoeuvres or acrobatics, but merely gliding through the clear sky, loosing themselves and their grief in the calmness of the wind and the clearness of the sky.

Eragon had no sense of time and was only dimly aware of the fact that neither he nor Saphira had eaten or rested in a long time, but he never felt like mentioning any of it to Saphira, it would ruin the peace. Saphira must have noticed his thoughts, because shortly after she descended towards a clearing in a nearby forest and landed there gently.

_Let us rest little one, we both need to sleep and no one will intrude upon us here_, Saphira gently said in Eragon's head. Her words had a soothing effect on Eragon's mind and not soon after was Eragon fast asleep under Saphira's protective wing.

Eragon was standing on a lane of grass, to either side he could see tall square buildings made of red bricks and with lots of windows on them and to the front the sun was setting. He began walking towards his left building and pushed open a door seemingly made of glass, at the inside of the building were a staircase and a long hallway on either side, with many doors placed exactly the same distance apart, where the only difference was the number on the door. Eragon moved towards the staircase and started ascending it, it looked to be made of a smooth grey rock and seemingly without any joints. After climbing to the third floor Eragon walked away from the staircase and into another hallway, which looked exactly like the hallway at the bottom. Eragon started moving to the left side of the hallway and stopped facing the door labelled 307.

Eragon was shaken awake by a couple of hands furiously shaking his entire body. He did not know who had woken him, but recognition hit him as he smelled the scent of crushed pine needles.

"WHY DID YOU NOT TELL YOUR GUARDS, WHERE YOU WERE GOING!", Arya screamed Eragon in his face as she continued shaking him wildly, "WE HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR YOU FOR HOURS!"

Still confused by the dream Eragon started trying to pry off the hands shaking him, but the furious she-elf would not let go of him, so he chose to simply open his eyes and look around. In front of him he could see a furious Arya with twigs in her hair and an expression that looked like she would throw him off a cliff, if there had been one near, to his right he saw Blödhgarn and an elf by the name of Yaela, to his left where two of his other elven guards and behind him Saphira was slowly awakening.

"I am sorry Arya. I did not think that I needed any guards when Saphira and I decided to rest here for a while", Eragon said with as much of an apologetic face as he could muster.

"YOU'RE SORRY! WE HAVE JUST WITNESSED THAT THE EMPIRE IS READY TO SUMMON SHADES JUST TO STALL US AND YOU DON'T THINK YOU NEED GUARDS SLEEPING IN AN AREA THAT WAS CONTROLLED BY THE EMPIRE MERE HOURS AGO", Arya screamed at Eragon before tossing him halfway across the clearing.

By this time Saphira had awoken and turned her head towards the elf group, _You don't believe I am capable of defending Eragon?_, she mentally asked them.

"We do not doubt your capabilities Brightscales, but with the loss of Oromis and Glaedr, your safety has become even more critical", Blödhgarn answered before Arya had a chance to speak.

_We accept your explanation and promise to do better in the future, but know that we are used to being free to sleep and fly wherever we want without mentioning it and we have yet get accustomed to this new situation,_ Saphira answered and thereby ended the discussion.

The group walked back to Feinster shortly after that, with Eragon walking next to Blödhgarn on the way back. Eragon did not walk next to Blödhgarn because he wanted to talk to him, but rather because he was not sure whether Arya was done throwing him around and he was not going to give her another excuse to do so.

"You can't hide behind me forever, Shadeslayer. At some time you have to confront Arya Dröttningu", Blödhgarn whispered to Eragon, so quietly that even with his elven hearing Eragon could only barely hear it.

"I am not hiding", Eragon whispered back.

"Try saying that in the ancient language", Blödhgarn countered.

"**I am n-**", Eragon tried, but failed as no one could lie in the ancient language.

"**See**", Blödhgarn chuckled, "**to be honest I would be terrified too if the Dröttningu was so angry at me**".

"**Do you have any idea how I can get her to forgive me?**", Eragon asked Blödhgarn hoping the elder elf's wisdom would come in handy.

"**You might want to start with talking to me about it, instead of cowering behind Blödhgarn**", came Arya's voice from directly behind Eragon.

Eragon had not noticed Arya sneaking up behind them, actually he still thought she was at the front of the group, so naturally he was quite startled when he heard her voice, "**I am sorry, Arya svit-kona. It was wrong of me to not inform my guards of my whereabouts and I promise that I will do better in the future**".

"**It is a start, but I expect you at my chambers later this evening, so I can try and force some sense into your head**", Arya said right before she walked through the gate to Feinster and disappeared down an alley.

_How long do you think she will stay mad at me?_, Eragon asked Saphira.

_I don't know little one, but if you tell her it was me who persuaded you to take a flight with me and who lulled you into sleep, I don't think it will be that long. Elves can't stay mad at a dragon_, Saphira answered back.

Eragon decided against Saphira's offer, because he felt like he was simply shifting between hiding behind Blödhgarn to hiding behind Saphira, but did send happy feelings across their link to show that he appreciated what she had tried to do.

_I don't know what to do about my dream however. It felt just like my other premonitions, but the buildings looked so different from anything I have ever seen before, the stone in the stairway almost looked like it had melted into that shape and I have never heard of anyone trusting enough to simply use a glass door as the front door, there wasn't even any guards_, Eragon mused to Saphira.

_I agree, nowhere in Alagaësia would anyone build something like that without even having someone guard it, but what if that place is not in Alagaësia_, Saphira answered.

_If it is not in Alagaësia then where would it even be? East, South, North or West of Alagaësia? There is simply too much ground to cover and why would I even be there when I am desperately needed here?_, Eragon countered.

_You are right when you say that there would simply be too much ground to cover if we did not know where to look, but we do know a certain individual who always seems to know more than she lets on, and if anyone would know this place, it would be her_, Saphira answered, clearly pleased with her discovery.

_Angela! You are a genius Saphira_, Eragon said full of pride in his dragon.

"**Blödhgarn, Saphira and I are going to see Angela. You don't need to come with us**", Eragon saidexpecting lots of protest, but to his surprise Blödhgarn's only answer was, "**very well, Shadeslayer**".

Still confused by the elf's reaction, Eragon started running towards where he knew Angela had been giving her chambers. He reached it within minutes and when he knocked on the door, Angela shouted from the inside, "Come in Eragon, the tea is almost ready".

After entering the room, Eragon could see Angela pouring tea into two cups on the table, confused by this Eragon asked the herbalist, "How did you know it was me and how did you know I would be here know?".

"Oh dear, I don't tell you all of my secrets, now do I? But I believe those aren't the questions you came in here to ask me about", Angela answered mysteriously.

"Well no, I actually came here to ask you if you recognized a place I have been seeing in my dreams", Eragon answered confused by the herbalist's previous statement.

"Well how would I know what you are seeing in your dreams?", Angela countered.

"You knew about me coming here tonight, even when I did not know I was coming until a few minutes ago, so I thought maybe you knew what I would ask about as well", Eragon answered.

"Dear, I just knew you would be coming here to talk about something that would affect the outcome of Alagaësia. I did not know what you would talk about", Angela answered while sipping the burning hot tea.

"Okay... Well, I had a sort of a premonition, I think, when I was sleeping a little while ago. I was in a strange city, there were two tall buildings made of some sort of red bricks and they had lots of windows and I was standing on a grass lane looking at the sunset. I walked towards one of the buildings and the front door was made of glass, there were no guards anywhere, and when I got inside I started walking up a staircase made of stone with no visible joints, it looked almost like the stone had been melted into the shape of the staircase. I walked up the staircase to the third floor and entered a hallway filled with doors which had numbers on them. I then started walking to the left side of the hallway and stopped at a door with the number 307 on it", Eragon said as he recounted his dream.

"Hmm, I believe I might know where this place is, but it is not a place you can go to like going to Surda or Du Weldenvarden, you can only go there if I send you there, and I can only hold you in that place for an hour, so whatever is in that room you need to get it before the hour runs out... oh and Saphira certainly can't come", Angela said in a voice completely serious and devoid of its usual mystery.

"Why can't Saphira come, where exactly is this place and how do you even know about it?", Eragon asked confused and hoping he somehow could persuade Angela to let Saphira come with him.

_I don't want Eragon to go to an unknown place that could be filled with all sorts of dangers, without me watching his back. He attracts too much trouble for me to leave him at a place like that_, Saphira projected her thoughts to everyone in the room.

"I don't have time to both answer your questions and to prepare for your departure, so if you want answers, Saphira is going to need to pick up some supplies, which Solembum will know what is", Angela said while searching through her books with one hand and cradling some coal in the other.

_Saphira?_, Eragon asked. _I will get the supplies, just let me hear what she says_, Saphira answered as she sent a picture of her taking off with Solembum on her head.

"Saphira and Solembum are getting the supplies, so why don't you start telling me how you know of this place, why you can't just travel there and why Saphira can't come", Eragon asked Angela while keeping a connection with Saphira, so she could hear the answer.

"First of all, the reason you can't just fly there is because it does not exist anywhere in the world and therefore you can't go there", Angela answered while drawing a big circle on the floor.

"How can it exist and still not exist?", Eragon asked confused.

"Oh it exists, just not in our world. You need to cross over into a whole new world to get there. Second of all, the reason I know of this place is because I have visited it. Though the last time I visited it, the entire world was engulfed in some big war, but that was some 70 years ago", Angela said while still drawing strange symbols both inside and outside of the circle.

"Okay... and why can't Saphira come with me to this new world?", Eragon asked while still trying to wrap his mind around there being more worlds.

"Well, in their world dragons are thought of as mythic figures and have been for centuries, elves and dwarves are extinct too and there are not any magic users living there", Angela said, while standing up and examining her work.

"Why are there no dragons, elves, dwarves or magic user?", Eragon asked.

"The way I learned it, was that the dragons and the elves in their world never formed the riders, but instead the elves turned to the dwarves for help in the dragon war. The few remaining dragons then fled and encountered the human race, which they eventually went to war with as well. The humans in their world proved themselves to be quite innovative in their war, and soon the dragons were no more, but the humans were still wary of the possibility of more dragons, and decided to follow the dragons' trail to the land where the elves and dwarves lived. Once there they established a colony and eventually war broke out between the humans, the elves and the dwarves, but the humans had the advantage of numbers from their home country and the elves were never as powerful as those in our world, because they never formed the riders, so the humans won this war as well and exterminated the dwarves and elves", Angela said.

"What happened after that?", Eragon asked.

"The humans spread to cover their entire world with cities and settlements, but without any common enemy the humans soon started warring with each other and as the millennia passed by, the story of the dragons, elves and dwarves became mythic stories that no one believed had ever occurred. The reason for there being no magic users is because after the dragons were killed, the magic users became rarer and rarer, and the few that still has the inert ability to use magic can't use it, because the very magic of the world is dead. That also means that when I send you there you won't be able to use more than a few simple spells and your magic will fade the longer time you spend there", Angela said looking directly into Eragon's eyes.

"That still does not explain why Saphira can't come", Eragon countered.

"Damn it boy, don't you see. These people have not seen a dragon for countless millennia, what do you think will be their first reaction when they see Saphira?", Angela said angrily.

"They might try to kill her, but she could just take refuge in the sky where no one can see her", Eragon countered.

"Not even the sky is safe for her in their world, the last time I was there; they were flying around in metal machines and shooting each other down. Saphira won't stand a chance in their world", Angela said.

Eragon was about to answer that Saphira could take out anything in the air, but was stopped by Saphira's thoughts to them both, _Listen to her Eragon, we don't want to drag attention to ourselves once we are there and my being there certainly will_.

"Well at least your dragon has some sense", Angela said and ended the discussion with that.

Saphira made it back shortly after that and while Angela prepared her ritual, Eragon looked out at the window where the sun was beginning to set, that was when he realized that Arya was in her room waiting for him and that she might want to know about his imminent travel.

"Oh wait, I have to tell Arya about where I am going, she is expecting me for an appointment right about now", Eragon said to the assembled.

"No time for that dear, you said that the sun was setting in your dream and if you start running off to tell your she-elf where you are going, you will be late for that", Angela said and pushed him into the circle.

_Don't worry Eragon I will tell her when you are gone_, Saphira said knowing that he feared angering Arya further by going on this adventure without even telling her first.

_Thank you Saphira and please try to not let her maul me when I get back_, Eragon answered his beloved dragon before cutting the link between.

"Ready? If not then that is too bad, because I am starting now. Remember one hour, and don't move around in the circle when I start", Angela said before starting the ritual with a bunch of strange words that Eragon could not recognize, but they were the last thing he sensed before everything went dark.


	2. The silver hope

**The silver hope**

**Eragon POV  
**Eragon was standing on a lane of grass with a sunset in front of him. He remembered the scenery from his dream and decided to follow his dream to the door labelled 307. He did not pay particular interest to anything on the way there, because he had already seen it in his dream, so his curiosity was instead focused on what he would find behind door 307. When he finally reached it he stood there for a few seconds, unsure of whether to knock on the door or simply open it with magic, in the end he decided to knock.

A voice came from inside the door, "come on in, it is open".

As Eragon opened the door the first thing he noticed was the desk with some strange furniture on it. After that his eyes turned to the figure sitting in the weird chair with metal rods with small wheels extending out from the bottom of it. Next the upper part of the chair started turning around without the bottom following it and he got a look at the figure sitting in the chair. It was a man, maybe a little older than himself, his eyes were grey, his skin slightly pale, Eragon could see his cheekbones, but they were not prominent and he did not look underfed. His hair was grey, not the old people kind of grey, but more of a mixture between white and black and he was wearing very strange clothing, but they did not look worn or dirty so Eragon guessed he washed them regularly.

The stranger was staring back at Eragon, clearly expecting someone else when he had answered the door. Eragon could see his eyes widen with disbelief and for a moment Eragon felt like covering himself up, so he would not be looked at like that. The stranger continued scanning Eragon's face and his clothing, as if not believing his eyes and when his eyes fell on Brisingr, he clearly tensed before finally asking, "Who are you?"

Eragon was happy that at least they still spoke the same language as he answered, "My name is Eragon Shadeslayer and I come from a place called Alagaësia".

"Shadeslayer? That is a weird last name and what in the world is Alagaësia? Did my friends put you up to this?", the stranger asked clearly not believing Eragon was telling the truth.

"I don't know what a last name is, but Shadeslayer is a title I acquired after killing a shade and to answer your questions, Alagaësia is not in this world and no your friends did not put me up to this. I have no idea who they are", Eragon said while suddenly realizing how insane he sounded to this complete stranger.

"You killed a shade? With what a light? And how is it you don't know what a last name is everyone has a last name", the stranger asked clearly not paying attention to the rest of Eragon's message.

"You can't simply kill a shade by shining light on it, you have to stab it through the heart", Eragon said starting to get angry at this man insulting him about how hard it is to kill a shade.

"What heart does a shade have, it is immaterial", the stranger said.

Suddenly realizing that this man thought he was referring to the shadows and mentally scolding himself for not realizing that when there are no magic users there is no way to create a shade in this world. Eragon therefore decided to try and focus on making this man believe Alagaësia is real, "I am sorry for confusing you, where I come from shades are also the name of a certain type of creature".

"And you where from Alagaësia, which is in another world?", the stranger asked still clearly believing Eragon was insane.

"Yes, that is where I am from and I have come here to ask for your help in saving my world and to prove that I am not lying I will be saying this in the Ancient language", Eragon answered and repeated his message in the Ancient language.

The stranger clearly did not understand the Ancient language, because when Eragon was done, he simply looked more confused.

"Yeah I still don't believe you even when you use a foreign language, I can use one too, do you want to hear? Raus aus meinem Zimmer", the stranger said, but Eragon did not understand the foreign language.

"I see there is no way to make you believe my story without me doing some magic to prove it", Eragon said as he extended his hand and muttered Istalrí after which a flame lit up in his hands.

The stranger was clearly shocked by his display of magic and shouted,"turn it off before the fire alarm goes off".

Eragon quickly cut the flow of energy to the flame and waited for the stranger to say something.

Finally after half a minute of staring at his still outstretched hand the stranger said something to Eragon, "Okay, say that I do believe that you are actually not some really advanced con artist and are actually from this place called Alagaësia, what would you need my help with when you can do magic?"

"My home of Alagaësia is in a civil war, we are fighting to overthrow an evil tyrant called Galbatorix and it has been prophesised that if I could convince you to come with me back to help save my home, then you would affect the outcome of the war", Eragon said with as much conviction as he could muster.

"How would I be able to change the outcome of your war? I can't do magic and judging by your weapon you are still fighting with swords, bows and that sort of weaponry and the only experience I have in combat is some hand to hand combat with jiu jitsu, that I went to a few years back", the stranger said.

"I do not know how you will influence the war, but you will", Eragon said trying to instil courage into the stranger.

"I am just a man studying chemistry at the university, why would I want to get involved in a civil war in a country I have never even heard of?", the stranger asked.

"Because if you don't countless of thousands of people could die and the few remaining alive would be enslaved forever", Eragon said.

"Well not forever, just until that Galbatorix fellow dies of old age, right?", the stranger asked.

"No, if we don't defeat Galbatorix he will live forever and forever enslave all the people of Alagaësia", Eragon said and looked sternly at the stranger.

"And you are sure that my being there would help him come to an end?", the stranger asked again.

"Yes, one way or another, your very presence there will change the course of the war", Eragon said feeling that the stranger was just about to agree on coming.

"Fine, I will come, it is not like I have any girlfriend or family here anyway, but I do need to leave a note to my friends saying I have gone on some trip and don't know when I will be back", the stranger said and started scribbling on a piece of paper.

"What is the weather like in Alagaësia, is it winter right now and will I even be able to take anything with me?", the stranger asked as he found a backpack.

"You will only be able to take a single backpack with you, but you should not worry about the clothes, they will be provided for you when we arrive", Eragon said as he eyed the stranger taking out lots of strange clothing.

"Alright, but I at least want my hiking boots, a few of my favourite shirts, a complete suit for parties along with a bottle of deodorant, my sleeping bag and –mat, my knife and a few books, a toothbrush", as the stranger said the things he wanted to bring along he found them and neatly packed them into the backpack without paying any attention to Eragon, clearly indicating that he was quite experienced packing a backpack,"my solar powered watch could still work there as long as there is sunlight, I probably won't need my money or cell phone and I think that is about it, but now I want to change into some proper clothes as I believe my first impression should be good".

"All right, but hurry up we are leaving in a short while", Eragon said as he watched the stranger strip out of his clothes and put on some fresh ones. The stranger was now wearing some grey pants, sturdy coal-coloured shoes that did not look like they were made of leather, a white undershirt and a blue shirt on top of his undershirt (grey jeans with a white t-shirt and a blue shirt and for further info, all the shirts are with long sleeves), all in all he now looked like a fine lord. The stranger then snatched up his backpack and went to stand beside Eragon.

"So do I have to do something special to be transported back with you?", the stranger asked.

"I think holding unto my arm will be enough", Eragon said," By the way, what is that jewellery that you wear on your left wrist?"

"That is not jewellery, it is my watch. A sort of timekeeping device that can show you the time of the day and accurately measure the time between two events if you tell it to. It is even water resistant down to 200 meters under the water", the stranger said while eyeing the watch.

"Amazing, so you are telling me that no matter where I am, I can see the actual time of the day on that? But why would you need to make it water resistant down to 200 meters below the water?", Eragon asked curiously.

"Yes it can tell time, but it might have to be adjusted to Alagaësia as I don't know if they have the same time zone as we do here, but the reason for it to be water resistant down to 200 meters is actually just to say that it won't break down if you take a swim with it", the stranger told Eragon.

As they waited for the magic to pull them back Eragon started to think about what the stranger had meant with a last name and why he had thought Eragon's last name was Shadeslayer, so he decided to ask him, "While we wait, what did you mean by my last name? What is a last name exactly?"

The stranger looked thoughtful for a moment before he replied, "A last name is the last of your names, it indicates what family you are from, so that people can distinguish between people with the same first name".

"Oh, so it is kind of like when the nobles say that they are from a certain house, for example King Orrin is from the house of Langfeld", Eragon said as he was beginning to understand what the stranger had meant with a last name.

"Yes, but in this world all families, rich or poor, have last names", the stranger answered Eragon.

As he thought about this Eragon realized that he did not even know the stranger's name yet and immediately scolded himself for not inquiring about it earlier, "So, what can I call you?"

"My full name is Mercury Iridium, but just call me Mercury", the stranger, who Eragon now knew as Mercury, answered.

"Oh, I believe, I can feel the magic starting to drag me back. I can't wait for you to meet Saphira, by your choice of shirt colour I think she will like you", Eragon said as he eagerly awaited to be reunited with his partner of mind and heart. The last thing he heard before his senses going dark was, "who is Saphira?"

* * *

I know a lot of you probably hoped for some more encounters between Eragon and some modern machinery, but I found it kind of irrelevant to the story and therefore decided against it.

I am actually in a great mood right now, I have just finished the "official" first encounter between Mercury and some of Eragon' bodyguards. Lets just say it was hilarious to write and I hope you will find it funny too, when we eventually get that far into the story.


	3. Strange new world

**Strange new world**

**Mercury POV  
**Mercury was suddenly standing in a room that definitely was not the room he had been in just seconds ago. It was made of stone, but it looked like the kind of stonework Mercury had seen in some of the castles he had visited on vacations. It had a small window, which showed the sky darkening, and a fireplace close by the window. There was a table with two chairs and two cups filled with some hot liquid next to the fireplace. On the floor, where he and Eragon were standing, there was a black circle with strange symbols inside and outside of the circle. All in all it looked just like Mercury suspected the medieval people had lived, except for the black circle with the strange symbols.

"Wow, I have to admit, a part of me did not believe you, but I certainly do now", Mercury said with wonder clear in his voice.

"He he, I felt the same way when I was transported to your world", Eragon chuckled next to Mercury.

"You did not believe fully in what I was saying, I am hurt", came a cheerful female voice from the corner of the room.

Mercury spun his head to search for the woman who had been saying that and as he did so, he noticed two female shapes in the shades near the corner of the room. He was just about to greet them, but was interrupted by the second apparently angry woman,"I thought, I had just made it clear to you that you should not just wander off without telling your bodyguards, but what do you do the first moment you are alone. You go off to some foreign world searching for something without even knowing what you are looking for".

"What do you mean he did not know what to look for?", Mercury interrupted.

"I knew what room it would be in and when I entered I found him", Eragon said as he gestured to Mercury,"I don't know what else it could have been".

"And who exactly is he?", said the second woman as she stepped out of the shades. Mercury noted that her face was angular like Eragon's, her eyes where green and shaped like Eragon's, her hair was raven black, her body was slender and by her waist she had a magnificent looking sword and the last thing Mercury noted about her was that her ears were pointed.

"He is called Mercury of house Iridium, and he has come because he might tip the scales of this war into our favour", Eragon said.

"So he is some sort of noble?", Arya asked.

"Actually, it is just Mercury Iridium. We don't have houses in my world and no I am not some sort of noble", Mercury interjected, "but are you really an elf?"

Clearly taken aback by the interruption and his disbelief in her elven heritage, Arya waited a moment before answering, "Yes, I am an elf and the ambassador of the elven kingdom to the Varden".

"You never told me there where elves in this world, is there dwarves too?", Mercury asked Eragon.

"Aye, there are both elves and dwarves here. I apologize for forgetting to mention it", Eragon said as he thought about what he might have forgotten to mention as well.

"Elves and dwarves, great, what is next...dragons?", Mercury said while still trying to adjust to the fact that the mythic creatures where real.

"Oh that reminds me, you have to meet Saphira", Eragon said with a longing voice.

"You mentioned her before, who is she?", Mercury asked intrigued.

"She is my partner of mind and heart. We share a bond that binds our souls together", Eragon said as he looked out the window.

"That sounds...intimate", Mercury said warily, as he did not know just how much more of this he could take in one day.

"Before any of you go anywhere, we have to report these news to Nasuada, King Orrin, King Orik and the queen", Arya said as she led them out the door and down some hallways before taking off to inform the leaders.

"Can you give me any advice on who is who, so I don't insult some king or queen?", Mercury whispered to Eragon as they walked.

"Nasuada is the leader of the Varden and my liege lord; you can recognize her by her dark skin. King Orrin is the king of Surda, a human kingdom to the south. King Orik is the king of the dwarves and my foster brother and lastly Queen Islanzadi is the queen of the elves", Eragon whispered back.

"Got it, any advice when I meet with them?", Mercury asked.

"They will probably all try to influence or gain power over you somehow, when they learn of Angela's prophecy about your value. I won't be able to help you as my oath to Nasuada and my loyalty to Orik prevents me from interfering", Eragon answered back.

_Great_, Mercury thought to himself, _I have not even been to Alagaësia for more than an hour and now I have to decline and possibly insult some of the most powerful people here in order to retain my freedom, but I can't let anyone gain power over me. If anyone did that they might force me to reveal some of the industrial and military secrets from my world and I don't think Alagaësia is ready for that. _

Finally Eragon and Mercury entered a big room with a table in the middle. Seated at the table where the kings, Nasuada and a mirror showing an elf woman, who, Mercury thought, looked a bit like Arya. As Mercury walked towards the table, he noticed that Eragon walked ahead of him. Eragon bowed to Nasuada and then turned to Islanzadi and made a weird move with his hand over his sternum and said some foreign words. Islanzadi said some other words back and Eragon went to stand by Arya, who was standing a little away from the table. Mercury kept walking towards the table and stopped a little before it, so that he could still look everyone in the eyes without having to turn his head completely.

"It is customary for subjects to bow before a king", Orrin said as he eyed Mercury's strange clothing.

"I am not one of your subjects, King Orrin, and therefore I see no reason to bow", Mercury said as he figured that this might be a ploy from Orrin to let the rest of the leaders see that he could control this new stranger.

"I would usually have you whipped for that insult, but I am in a gracious mood today, so you can go free", Orrin said, but Mercury expected that this was just an excuse to have Mercury feel like he owed him a debt.

"Thank you for the sentiment, but I was under the expression that your kingdom was further to the south and this city was captured for the Varden", Mercury said in order to both appease King Orrin and assess the political landscape.

"The Varden and Surda have joined forces and therefore King Orrin has as much to say as myself, Queen Islanzadi or King Orik", Nasuada spoke in order to stop the arguments that would surely have come, had this continued.

"I see. Forgive me for my ignorance, but I was unaware of your very existence until a little while ago", Mercury said.

"There is nothing to forgive, we should not expect you to know the dealings of a land you have never even heard of", Orik spoke.

"Thank you, King Orik", Mercury said, liking the dwarf already.

"My daughter informs me, that Angela has told her that your world has military weapons that could destroy even our strongest armies within minutes, will you share these weapons with us?", Islanzadi spoke from the mirror with a voice that made Mercury fear to ever deny it.

Gathering all his courage and his arguments, Mercury spoke to all the assembled, "I do not know how to make even the weakest of the weapons of my age, but I do know how to make weapons that while being much simpler and far less effective would still prove deadly to an army composed of swords and bows. I tell you this, not to teach you how to make these, but to try and convince you that doing so now would be a disaster for Alagaësia at its current state of development".

"Why would these weapons be so disastrous for Alagaësia? If they are even half as powerful as you say we could remove the mad king and restore peace to all of Alagaësia without having to shed so much blood and even if they are as dangerous as you say, we could just stop using them right after", Nasuada spoke.

"No, my lady Nasuada, you could not. From the moment the first people learn how to make and use these weapons there will be no going back. Once even a few rich and powerful people learn about these weapons they will somehow capture some of them and learn to make more of them. Even if you ban them, the lords of the land will keep some to safeguard themselves and their land, and the only response the new government would have to counter the threat of even one of these lords rising up, would be to have more of these weapons themselves, so once the weapons are introduced they will never go away. The history books of my world is filled with examples of just that", Mercury said, trying to convince the leaders to not want the weapons, because if he could not then he would be forced to outright deny them all and that was something he preferred not to do.

"You speak well for your cause, tell me how long have you practised those arguments?", Nasuada spoke with a slight bit of admiration in her voice.

"To be honest my lady, from the first moment I realized this place was real", Mercury answered back.

"So you never wanted to help us in our time of need. You just wanted to exploit our hospitality, you would turn down your own kind's plea for help that easily. I could just take that information from your mind", Orrin spat out angrily.

"King Orrin, I came here to help and I will do so, but I will never reveal this information to you until I deem Alagaësia ready for that kind of change and I highly doubt that would be in my lifetime, so I will take this information with me to my grave, under torture if I have to", Mercury said while shooting daggers at Orrin.

"King Orrin, you would insult a man who gives up his entire life to come to our aid and even threaten to let your spell casters invade his mind. If you do such a thing then Surda is either out of the Varden or the dwarves will no longer support the Varden", Orik spoke with a clear and slightly threatening voice.

"I agree with King Orik, if we force information from the minds of those who willingly helps us, then we are no different than the mad king Galbatorix", Islanzadi concurred.

"I believe we have had enough of these discussions for the day. Mercury I will assign quarters for you here in the castle as a guest of the Varden. We can discuss how you can be of most use to us at a later time, but for now you are free to do as you wish", Nasuada spoke and ended the meeting.

Once away from the prying ears of the leaders, Mercury turned to Eragon and asked him something that had been bothering him ever since it first came up, "Eragon, Orrin said he would force the information from my mind and later Orik said something about allowing spell casters to invade my mind, is that possible?"

"Aye, I am afraid it is. In this world all magicians and even some who aren't can invade the mind of others and control their thoughts and learn every one of their secrets", Eragon said warily.

"Is there any way to defend against this?", Mercury said, suddenly not feeling safe in his own mind.

"Aye, there is a way to defend against it, but it will need hard training", Eragon answered.

"Would you train me to defend my mind?", Mercury asked.

"Aye, I will and I think training you with a sword might be a good idea too", Eragon said, looking happy that he was able to do something constructive instead of just killing people and winning battles.

"Thank you Eragon, I will train my mind to be a fortress the likes of which Alagaësia has never seen", Mercury said with so much conviction that even Eragon seemed impressed by his resolve.

Together Mercury and Eragon started walking out of the castle and into the city. The moon had risen and the streets were silent, because everyone was probably asleep, but Mercury did not feel tired as he was used to staying up late to do his homework. Mercury simply followed Eragon as he had no idea of where he was or where they were going, but as he looked at his new friend something caught his eyes: Eragon had pointed ears.

Mercury stopped from the shock as he had always figured Eragon to just be a human like himself, but he was an elf,"why did you not tell me you where an elf?"

Eragon turned around with a confused expression,"I thought it was obvious, and I am actually only a half-elf".

"Oh, so your parents were an elf and a human", Mercury said as he caught up with Eragon.

"No, both my parents were human, but I was transformed into this by the dragons at a festival called the Agagetí Blödhren ", Eragon answered as he led Mercury into a big opening.

"So wait, there are dragons here too?", Mercury asked warily. He had of course read about dragons in the stories, but they were either vicious creatures, smart but tricky, riddle loving creatures or somewhere in between.

"Yes, though there is only one free dragon left and her name is Saphira and she is my partner of heart and mind", Eragon said as a majestic blue dragoness landed in the opening and looked curiously at Mercury.

Mercury was standing completely still, he did not know the dragoness or whether it would eat him as a snack, but as he stood there, he could not help but admire the beauty of the majestic dragon in front of him. The scales were blue and glistening like the most perfect sapphires, down her back ran ivory spikes, except for a spot between her shoulders. Her body was muscular and her talons and fangs looked like they could rip him into pieces without Mercury ever having a chance to defend himself or flee and as he thought about this a thought came to his mind: _This must be what a mouse feels like when it sees a cat_. However the thing that captivated Mercury's attention the most were her eyes, they were blue like her scales, but they shone with an intelligence and a wisdom that made Mercury feel insignificant in comparison. Then suddenly a voice echoed through his head, _Greetings, Mercury Iridium, I am Saphira_.

At first Mercury felt like he had lost the ability to speak and when he finally tried he could not utter a single word in awe of the dragoness. This however seemed to amuse the dragoness as she made a deep rumbling sound, which sounded a little bit like laughter before speaking to him again, _Has the man who was willing to openly defy the kings and queens of Alagaësia lost his tongue just because a dragon chooses to speak to him_.

Finally able to clear his head Mercury spoke with much awe clear in his voice, "The kings and queens where not half as fierce looking or possessed even a fraction of the beauty that you possess Saphira".

Saphira hummed, clearly pleased with his answer, and as Mercury and Eragon walked back to the castle Eragon jokingly said, "Are you sure this is the first time you speak with dragons, because you sure sounded like you knew exactly what to say".

"What do you mean?", Mercury asked confused.

"Dragons are especially fond of flattery", Eragon chuckled next to him.

"I will make sure to remember that, see you tomorrow morning at practice", Mercury said as they separated near his quarters.

_What a day_, Mercury thought to himself as he lay in his bed,_ It started like any other, but I have been transported to another world, met elves and dwarves, learnt that Eragon shares his soul with a dragon and met said dragoness. No one at home will ever believe this when I get back_.


	4. I need allies

**I need allies**

**Mercury POV  
**A week had gone by since Mercury had first come to Alagaësia, Mercury had kept some of his old habits from his own world, like going for a run every morning and doing 3 x 60 push-ups, 3 x 40 sit-ups while hanging with his head down from the ceiling and 3 x 50 pull-ups every night before bed, but there was a new addition to his morning routine: swordplay and mental defence with Eragon.

Although Mercury himself did not see any significant progress in his sword fights with Eragon or his mental defence practises, Eragon had said that he was making good progress, but Mercury suspected he had just said that to boost his confidence, as he still could not do anything that seemed to catch Eragon off guard during their fights. He had tried everything he could think of and then a whole lot of new things, he had tried to feign misstepping and multiple other injuries, try and get Eragon to move into an area that favoured Mercury, tried to set small traps, made of what he could find and place during the fight and he had even tried at several times to throw his sword at Eragon or other such distractions, so that he could get close and try some of his jiu jitsu, but Eragon had at all these times just sidestepped him or blocked his attempts with Brisingr. Eragon had said after a particular innovative attempt that he had a "unique kind of fighting, that I have never seen elsewhere". The mental defence training was only going slightly better. Mercury still lost, but now he could at least keep Eragon at bay for almost half a minute.

Mercury spent the rest of the days learning the political landscape of Alagaësia and their cultures and how to behave properly around them. He had taken quite a liking to the dwarven society and had often tried to get one of the dwarves to teach him their language, but they all said they were either too busy or did not know him well enough. Something he had found quite strange was that everyone seemed to value knowledge of the Ancient language above other foreign languages, but he guessed that was just because you could not lie in that language and therefore you could use it for different purposes.

Right now Mercury was walking down to his favourite spot in all of Feinster: the library. Mercury had always been a bookworm with an insatiable curiosity back home and now he was in a completely new world, which meant there was so much more to learn. Although the nobles of Feinster had said that the library in Feinster was one of the empire's biggest, only surpassed by the one in Dras-Leona and Urû'baen, Mercury had found it to be small in comparison to the ones at home. It was not that the building was small or that there were not many scrolls or books, but the scrolls and the books where nowhere near as densely filled as the standard books at home and therefore Mercury had been able to finish reading nearly a fifth of the entire library in a single week. His speed at reading had very clearly surprised the old librarian and many novices had since questioned him about how he was able to read so fast, but Mercury had merely shrugged and said that it came with lots of practise.

As he was reading a scroll about the different burial rituals of the humans in the Empire and Surda, he noticed a slight tendril of thought searching the library. Mercury immediately remembered his training and raised his best walls and not a second too soon, because as the tendril noticed him, it attacked with a great force. The force was far less great than what Mercury had been used to with Eragon, but it still took a good portion of his willpower to shut it out. After 15 minutes of struggling, the tendril left for a moment, but Mercury had no intention of lowering his walls the slightest. A minute later a new attack confirmed Mercury's suspicion that it had been a ruse to get him to lower his walls, but as the tendril noticed the walls were as strong as ever, it drew away again.

_Who the hell was that, Mercury thought to himself, __well now I at least know that I have made some progress with my mental defences. I think I will discuss this with Eragon later or tomorrow at practice._

Mercury left the library shortly after that and went down to the mess hall to have some dinner, the course of the day: lamb stew with potatoes and vegetables. Mercury had not really made any friends with the Varden, the soldiers thought of him as a weird bookworm who got special treatment and it did not help that he refused to participate in their drinking games, the nobles all tried to either pry information on his home world or Eragon, and the commanders pretty much kept to themselves, so as he got his plate he sat down at an empty table, except for some dwarves at the end, and started eating his dinner in silence.

"I'm telling you, I would rather choose to fight ten battles than having to empty those mines again", came the voice from one of the dwarves, who, to Mercury at least, sounded a bit drunk.

"I know what you mean. Having to drag those buckets all the way up from the deep mines, only to go right back again and drag some more all day, is not how a dwarf should have to work to keep the mines clear of water", came a reply from one of the other dwarves.

"Aye, but that is the only way, unless you have a better one", said a third dwarf.

"Nay I have none, and none have found an answer to that problem for as long as those mines have been there", said the second dwarf.

Mercury did not pay the conversation any mind, the dwarves were always talking about their mines and he had heard this particular conversation a few times during the last week, so he simply finished his dinner and went to explore the castle and the city for the remainder of the day.

During the next three days the attacks on Mercury's mind happened again and again, but every day it seemed like the entity was a little more powerful than the day before. The reason for this became apparent at the fourth attack of the third day, as he repelled another attack he thought he could sense the entity getting frustrated and attack with different kinds of attacks at the same time. These new attacks were far less powerful than the one unified attack, that Mercury had repelled just before, but it showed him that the reason for the entity's growing strength was because it had more and more people helping it.

_Damn, I don't know if I will be able to hold out forever against these attacks, Mercury thought to himself, __I could tell Eragon, but he has a lot on his plate already and he neither could nor should protect me at all times. What I really need are allies, allies who just by being allies would prevent most of these attacks out of fear of retribution. These allies would have to be someone that I find pleasant to be around and feel safe with and they would need to command power and respect. Of the people with that kind of power and respect are: Nasuada, Trianna, Orrin, Orik, Arya or Blödhgarn and Nar Garzhvog. Nasuada would not do, I don't trust Trianna or Orrin, they might very well be the ones behind these attacks, Arya don't appear to like me very much and Blödhgarn's main task is to protect Eragon and finally we have Orik and Nar Garzhvog. Orik seemed pleasant enough the last time I met him, but the dwarves are terribly shy of lending their aid and knowledge to strangers, I can't even get them to teach me a few phrases of their language. Nar Garzhvog seems honourable, but I don't really like the urgalgra way of thinking, it seems too much like a tribal society for my taste. So that means I should probably try and make Orik my friend, if it works I might even get to visit the library at Tronjheim. I have read that it should be the second largest library in all of Alagaësia, only surpassed by the one in Ellesméra, __but how to actually get acquainted with Orik. He is a king and probably don't give many audiences to people who just want to talk to him._

Mercury spent several hours going over ideas as to how one got acquainted with a king, some ideas were simple enough, some were far too complicated to ever work, some were downright stupid and some involved kidnapping and forcing Orik to spend time with him, but they were all rejected. As he abandoned the latest kidnapping idea, a thought came to his head: _Maybe the idea behind forcing Orik to spend time with me is not a bad idea in itself, I simply have to not make the reason behind the forcing something negative, but something positive... like a wager. The idea was sound, but it sounded downright creepy to wager spending time with Orik just to spend time with him, so there had to be a reason for the time spending. __Of course, I have been trying to get some of the dwarves to teach me their language anyway, so if I make a wager, where if Orik loses, he has to teach me their language, then it will be two birds with one stone, but what could get a king to enter such a bet. The task I would have to accomplish would have to be something he considered impossible and if I lost there would be very annoying consequences for me._

As Mercury thought about what task the dwarves considered impossible, his mind kept returning to the three drunken dwarves at dinner a few nights ago. They had been complaining about emptying the deep tunnels of water with bucket and according to them, none had found a solution for as long as the mines had existed, so if Mercury said he could make a system that could fix that, no dwarf would believe it possible.

Mercury already had a few ideas, as to how to fix the problem. He liked to invent things and figure out solutions to problems and had done so for years back at home .He had never actually given much thought to this particular problem, but he was confident that his primary idea would work and if he builds a miniature model of the mines he could convince the dwarves it could work too.

As soon as he was comfortable with all the details of his new idea, Mercury walked over to the dwarven side of Feinster castle and requested an audience with Orik. He was given one before noon the next day, so he went back to his quarters, did his usual evening routine and went to bed.

The next day Mercury did his morning routine and his practises with Eragon as usual, he had not told a soul about his audience with Orik and he did not intend to. His primary reason behind this was that he treasured his private life and wanted to be able to make appointments and do things without having to seek permission or advice from anyone. He still however found it quite difficult to hide the fact, that he was going to an audience with Orik, from Eragon during their mental practice, but if Eragon found out, he did not comment.

When the time finally came for his audience, Mercury ran to the room, which the dwarves used as a throne room in Feinster. There were four guards guarding each side of the double doors, their armour shone like silver, but Mercury expected them to be made of the toughest steel the dwarves could make. Two of the dwarves at either side carried a halberd and the other two carried broad double edged axes and their beards were long and braided.

"What be you business human?", one of the guards asked.

"I have an audience with King Orik", Mercury said and stood straight.

Before long the double doors swung open and as Mercury entered the room his eyes immediately fell upon the dwarf sitting on a throne made completely of black marble and completely rectangular in its design. The dwarf carried a golden helmet lined with rubies and diamonds and on his lap was a war hammer which carried the symbol of the dwarven clan Dûrgrimst Ingeitum. Orik was not alone in the throne room, there were a few guards and advisors as well, but Mercury did not pay them any attention as he neared the throne and stopped at a respectable distance from it. Mercury refused to bow, be it to a dwarf, elf, urgalgra or human king or queen. It might be a stubborn and sometimes foolish thing to do, but if they thought they were higher than him then he should not have to show them, Mercury reasoned.

A silence reigned for a good 2 minutes as the dwarves studied this defiant human and Mercury studied them back. Mercury knew that dwarven custom dictated that the one seeking an audience should wait until he was addressed by the one who gave the audience, so he remained silent until addressed. A person less knowledgeable about the dwarven customs would surely have broken this rule already and Mercury expected the dwarves held the silence to give them an idea of whether Mercury was familiar with their customs or not. Finally Orik spoke with a clear but not unfriendly voice, "Greetings Mercury Iridium. I would usually ask that you rise, but that would be pointless now".

"Greetings Orik king of the thirteen dwarven clans, Grimstborith of Dûrgrimst Ingeitum and foster brother of Eragon Shadeslayer", Mercury spoke.

"Now that the pleasantries is out of the way, I ask you why you have requested this audience", Orik said.

"I requested this audience to make a wager, King Orik. A wager that I believe you can only profit from", Mercury said to raise the dwarves' curiosity.

"Not many would request an audience with the king of the dwarves simply to propose a wager and even fewer would propose a wager where the opponent profits from it no matter of the outcome. Tell me what do you wish the wager to be about?", Orik spoke with curiosity and mistrust in his voice.

"I have heard countless times that you have trouble with water flooding your deep mines and that your only solution to this is to empty them one bucket at a time, is this correct?", Mercury said trying to sound like he had not given it much thought.

"That is correct", one of the advisors spoke.

"Then my wager is this: I will have 3 days to find and show a way for you to empty out the water from the tunnels far more effectively", Mercury said and eyed the clearly surprised dwarves.

"To do such a thing is not possible, we would have done it a long time ago if it was", the advisor spoke again.

"Silence", Orik said,"if that be your wager then what would the stakes be, for surely you could obtain much gold if you where to sell this solution instead of giving it away on a wager".

"The stakes would be these: If I were to lose this wager, then I would personally work as one of the bucket people who drains the tunnels now in three years, but if I were to win this wager, then you would grant me permission to study in the library in Tronjheim for as long as I live and you, King Orik, would have to personally teach me how to speak and write the dwarven language, beginning at the day the wager is completed", Mercury said. He had not originally thought of adding the permission to study in the library of Tronjheim, but it would be a nice bonus to his end of the deal.

"Are you sure about this wager? I don't mean to insult you, but even if you win, which is highly unlikely, then your gain would not match the wealth you could have if you had simply sold the idea to us", Orik spoke with a confused and sympathetic voice.

"I am completely sure King Orik. Wealth has no interest to me, no what I value above all is knowledge and for me this wager would give me what I crave the most, if I were to win", Mercury said, confident in his choice in Orik as a new potential friend and ally. Orik had not tried to take advantage of him, but had warned him about the dangers of the wager and the small gain Mercury got out of it.

"If you are sure, then I accept your wager. We will meet in three days time and you will either present a solution or lose the wager", Orik said and dismissed Mercury.

Mercury spent all of his spare time in the next three days to build a miniature model of the mines and his solution to the problem. The solution was actually quite simple, two small shafts would be dug into the side of the tunnels along with a small hole in each tunnel and a small trench made sure the excess water flowed into the hole. The shafts would extend from the surface and down to the bottom of the deep mines with holes at each tunnel in between, the water would then be raised with a string pump, and a small valve at each hole made sure the water did not flow out of the shaft. The solution made it possible for new mines deeper down than the original shafts to be connected by simply drilling the shafts a little further down.

On the third day Mercury presented his solution to the dwarves and although Orik admitted defeat, he still retained that he had gained the most from the wager. The lessons in dwarven language and writing began shortly after as promised and three hours after the wager had been completed, Orik had informed Mercury that he would present him with a ring that would signal the dwarves that he was a friend of the dwarves and should be permitted access anywhere, except for some of the military and government buildings.

The ring was made of silver and was simple in its design, except for the top were the silver extended into a circle that was little smaller in diameter than the ring itself, thirteen small gems formed a circle on the silver circle and in the middle of the circle was a carving of the black throne of the dwarves.

Mercury had been greatly honoured by the ring and immediately placed it on his right hand's index finger, where it fit so well, that Mercury wondered whether the ring had been cast for his hand.

As the days of studying the dwarven language with Orik went on, Mercury noticed that people started acting differently around him. The dwarves seemed friendlier and often conversed with him in their native language and even helped him when he occasionally made an error in either pronunciation or grammar. The humans began to directly avoid him instead of simply ignoring him, Mercury suspected that they saw him helping and associating with the dwarves as treason to his own race, because he should have found answers to their problems before some other race. The elves still seemed indifferent, but Mercury caught them eying the ring more than once, but none ever said anything. The mental attacks had not completely stopped, there were still times at night when he was attacked, but the attacks had decreased in strength and the number of attacks per dayand as the days wore on they kept decreasing until they one day just stopped.


	5. In retrospect

**In retrospect**

**Mercury POV**

The Varden had stayed in Feinster for an additional three weeks before they were ordered to march on Belatona, and that was what they had been doing for half a week.

Mercury had continued his lessons in the dwarven language during the march, and he and Orik had even begun to discuss events outside of the work and war related topics. He had learnt that Orik had been married, to a dwarf named Hvedra, only a few months ago, and had learned about Orik's childhood and how it was like growing up under Hrothgar. Mercury had in return told Orik about his own childhood and his life so far, but he had never elaborated on any of the modern devices and Orik never asked about them.

Orik had allowed Mercury full access to his personal forge and best blacksmiths. Mercury had thanked Orik and asked if he could begin the forging of his own sword and armour, a request Orik had allowed. Orik had initially asked Mercury, why he had not asked the Varden to begin the forging back at Feinster, but Mercury had answered that he wanted his personal sword to be properly made, and the dwarven blacksmiths where the only people he trusted to make the sword. After going over the details on how the sword was made, Orik had agreed that the human blacksmiths would have been hard pressed to forge the sword.

His lessons with Eragon were going better too, but there was still a lot of work to be done. Mercury had made very significant progress in defending his mind, but Eragon still easily bested him in swordplay. He had since learned from Eragon that the reason, he easily bested him, was because he was a half-elf, and that had given him the superior speed, strength and senses of the elves. This information had given Mercury a whole new set of ideas on how to beat elves, the primary was somehow to overload their senses with information, but that a normal human would still be left capable of fighting from, but he had yet to find a way of doing this.

Another idea, on how to beat elves that always circled in his mind, was to somehow exploit the fact that the elves almost never considered humans to be a threat. Pride would be the downfall for even the mightiest creature if it kept underestimating its opponents, but, as the idea of overloading their senses, he still had to figure out a way of actually doing it.

Mercury was currently lying on his sleeping mat in his tent, it was late at night, and almost all of the Varden had gone to sleep. The tent was not very large, but it was a lot larger than some of the tents, he had been used to when going hiking. Mercury was currently reading one of the few books, which he had taken with him from his home world: Silmarillion. He had just gotten to the part where the elves would sail back to Middle-Earth, but then the lamp died out.

_Bloody hell_, Mercury thought to himself, _I was just getting to the good part. I can't get new oil for the lamp tonight, but I really want to at least finish this chapter_.

As he thought this, he held up a hand and concentrated on a picture of a flame lighting his hand. A moment later a flame, just like the one he had imagined, lit his hand, and he continued reading until the chapter ended.

As Mercury put down the book he looked into the flame and remembered the first time he had done magic.

**Start of Flashback**  
It was a couple of days after he had won the wager against Orik, he had been reading in the empty library late at night, well empty except for him. There had suddenly been a creak, and he had accidently dropped the book he had been reading out of the window. The book had not dropped to the ground, but had landed on some small ledge.

Mercury had cursed at his own stupidity and bad luck, _if the damn book had just hit the ground, this would have been so much easier_, he had thought to himself. Being an adept climber back at home, he had decided to climb out of the window and down the castle wall to retrieve the book. It had worked out pretty well too, he had successfully climbed down to the ledge and retrieved the book, but on the way up, a stone had come loose.

Mercury had managed to grab hold of the same ledge, the book had landed on, but the stone had been wet from the rain earlier, and he was slipping. _Curse, why did I not secure myself with a rope even a moron would know to do that_, Mercury had cursed right before losing his grip and plummeting down towards the ground. As he was falling towards the ground he had noticed a large stack of hay maybe 10-15 metres from where he would land, he had desperately wished for his fall to somehow angle and let him land in the hay, and to his surprise a force inside of him had done just that.

After landing in the haystack, Mercury had run to his room, while still holding the book, and had barred the door. _Did I just do that?_, Mercury had thought to himself, _No, it must have been a sudden gust of wind. But there has been no wind for days. Maybe it was Saphira or Eragon? No they would have contacted me. But then who did that? Could it have been me doing magic? No, magic does not exist in my world; both Angela and Eragon have said so. But I am not in my world anymore. Well there is one way I could find out whether it was me, but if it was not then I would die. STOP!_

Mercury had stopped all his thoughts and begun an exercise of breathing in and out to clear his head. After a few minutes of breathing, he believed himself to be calm enough to make rational decisions.

_Alright lets go over the experience again_, Mercury had thought as he recollected what had happened, _I fell and grabbed onto the ledger. Then I slipped, cursed and started plummeting towards the ground. I noticed a haystack and wished really hard on landing in it. I felt a force inside of me and then I landed in the haystack. Let us say that I commanded the force with my mind, then I should be able to command the force to do something simpler if I am just concentrating enough. But why have I not been able to do so before? Maybe because I am from a world where magic is dead, then the magic of this world would need time to store up magic in my body_.

As he thought about this it sounded simple enough, it was like taking a log from a saltwater lake and then dropping it in a freshwater lake. Although there were freshwater all around it, it still took time to dilute all the saltwater.

A few moments later Mercury was staring at the book he had brought with him from the library. The book was lying on the table, and Mercury concentrated on lifting the book. After 5 minutes the book still had not moved, and Mercury was beginning to get really frustrated. He stared at it for a couple of minutes more, before he began searching his mind for more clues as to how to activate the magic.

While searching his mind, he noticed a small section that felt like it was a part of it and yet it still felt foreign. He had tried reaching out to it, but it had kept eluding him, but as Mercury was not one to simply give up, he kept trying to reach it. Eventually he reached it and as he did so, he felt the force inside of him again, and immediately concentrated on lifting the book. The book had begun to levitate a few centimetres above the table before he could no longer hold onto the force.

Mercury had been pleased with his discovery and was just about to go announce his findings to Eragon and the rest of the leaders, but then a thought had crossed his mind: _Why should I yell out to the entire world that I have these powers? As it is now, everyone thinks I am just a normal human, a slightly crazy human according to some, but still just human. If I keep the magic a secret, then I would be at an advantage if I ever get cornered, because nobody will suspect me of being able to do magic_.  
**End of flashback**

After that night he had started training magic late at night, when no one was awake. It had been quite difficult at first, but eventually it became easier, but if he moved away from the object he tried to lift, it became harder again. This had led Mercury to believe that doing magic was like training a muscle: If you use it regularly it will build up more endurance and more muscle, but if you overdo it, it will snap.

Every one of his experiences with magic had seemed to fit into this theory. As he kept lifting the book it eventually became easier and easier and soon he was able to lift heavier stuff, but he had unfortunately also encountered the overdo part of his theory.

He had been practising lifting a chair and had had a stray thought to lift the table, bed and bookshelf along with the chair. The magic had begun lifting the items and Mercury had quickly begun feeling drained. He had only just managed to cut the flow of magic before he passed out, and when he woke up, he did not feel well. It was not until later the next morning that he had felt completely back to his old self, and he had as a consequence decided to train his mind to not stray while doing magic.

This training involved doing magic while he had one hand in cold water and another in hot water, along with and many other exercises that were designed to distract his mind. He had recently reached a point where he could stick one hand inside a fire and assemble a puzzle with magic above the other hand, and as a side effect of this training, his mental defences were stronger than ever. During the latest mental defence lesson, Eragon had been forced to ask for Saphira's help to break through Mercury's walls.

Mercury had found some simple magic to be hard to do, but a complex piece of magic might come easily enough. The reason for this was that each time he had to do magic, he had to imagine exactly what he wanted to happen. This meant that if he did not fully understand the magic and what it was supposed to do, it would end up doing something that he had not intended.

He had heard some of the other spell casters mutter some words before doing magic, but he believed they simply did this to collect their thoughts on what they wanted to do, because why else would they do it? He had proved that you did not need to utter a single word to do some of the things other magicians did, so therefore it was not necessary to chant some mysterious spell, Mercury had reasoned.

As Mercury kept staring into the flame, he willed it to change colour. First it shifted from the yellow flame it was now, to an orange flame. After that came a blue flame, followed by a red one and then a green one. He shifted the flame until it had been through all the colours of the rainbow. Mercury enjoyed playing with the fire, it might be an instinctual primitive fascination, but it was still fun.

Eventually he had an idea to try and mix the colours in the flame, and at the same time make the flame create a figure of a sort. His first idea had been simple enough: A 20cm x 20cm x 20cm cube made of 8 balls of fire as corners, with strands of fire connecting each ball with the adjacent balls. The balls had different colours, the side of the cube that faced Mercury had a ball of forest green flames in the upper left corner of the square and in the lower right corner was a ball of dark blue flames. The upper right corner had a ball of pure red flames and the lower left had a ball of royal purple flames. In the back of the cube was a silver ball of flames in the lower left corner, a golden ball of flames in the upper right corner, a white ball of flames in the upper left corner and a black in the lower right corner. The strands of flame that connected the balls into a cube were made of yellow flames.

His next figures had been more complex and with some he had even tried to depict animals or people and even Saphira at one time, but for some reason he was still far more fascinated by his first creation: The Cube, as he had started calling it in his mind. Mercury figured that he might improve upon the old cube and decided to add another smaller cube into his old cube. The smaller cube would be angled such that the balls of fire would be placed in the middle of each of the sides of the old cube, so that no matter what side you looked at it, there would be a square of 4 balls of flames connected by yellow strands of flame with a fifth ball of flames in the centre of the square. The smaller cube would consist of 8 balls of flames with the colours: ruby red in the back square, topaz yellow in the front square, ocean blue in the top square, leaf green in the bottom square and grey balls of flames in the left and right squares. The strands of flame, connecting the balls of flames in the smaller cube, were the usual fire orange.

Mercury spent the next 20 minutes admiring the cube from all the angles he could think of. In his mind the cube still lacked something in the centre of the cube, but he could not figure out what it was that it missed. He eventually decided that he could just finish his cube later, as he would not tarnish it by simply trying to add different shapes and figures to it.

While Mercury revelled in the heat of the fire and the sight of his creation, he eventually decided that it was time to sleep and was just about cut the flow of magic when a thought crossed his mind: _Wait, where does the heat of the fire get its energy from?_

Mercury had often considered where magic came from, but seeing as it was magic he had never given it much thought. Now however he thought that unless the rules of science from his home world were not completely washed away in this new world, then magic had to simply be a form of energy that a person could will to different tasks.

_And as all sorts of energy magic must have some sort of source_, Mercury mused to himself, _so if I can find the source of all the magic in the world. Then that might be enough to end this war immediately and without all the bloodshed. Maybe this is why I was sent here, because I would understand that something could not come out of nothing_.

As soon as he was confident that his arguments were simple and yet convincing enough to be explained to medieval people, Mercury rushed out of his tent and ran all the way to Eragon's tent. There was quite a large distance between Eragon's tent and Mercury's tent, as Eragon was situated close to the centre of the camp and Mercury had decided to place his tent away from the rest of the tents in the outskirts of the camp. The reasons, that Mercury had placed his tent away from the rest of the tents, were that he enjoyed his own private life being private and he did not feel the need to hear others private life.

* * *

If you have not guessed it already, then one of Mercury' prominent negative traits is his arrogance. He has a very hard time admitting to himself that he requires aid and trusts his own abilities too much.

If something is going to kill him in this story, which is not an impossibility, as I often kill my main characters, it will surely be because of his arrogance.


	6. Revelations

**Revelations**

**Mercury POV**  
As Mercury neared Eragon's tent he noticed that the two elven guards were not standing at the front of the tent as usual. He only had a fraction of a second to wonder about this, before his feet were swept away, and while he was falling head first towards the ground, two sets of arms grabbed his arms and forced them on his back, so he had nothing to soften the landing with.

Thump, came the sound of his body hitting the earth, but before he could let out a groan of agony, a hand had covered his mouth and had him muffled, and Mercury then felt the cold tip of a blade on his neck. "Who are you and why are you running towards the Shadeslayer's tent?", came a voice that while seeming pleasant enough, still carried a sense of imminent danger and power.

The moment he had heard the voice, Mercury figured out where the two elven guards at Eragon's tent had went, because only an elf could muster such a voice. Mercury tried to speak, but he was still muffled by one of the elves' hand. He could hear them talking to each other in their native tongue, but he had never learnt any Ancient words, so he had no idea what they said, but they sounded like they were arguing about something.

After a while they seemed to agree on something and the same voice that spoke before said, "we have agreed that you are not familiar with the Ancient language and therefore not a threat, so we will allow you to answer our questions now".

Trying to sound like he had not just run 4 kilometres, and then been tackled and fallen head first into the ground, Mercury said,"My name is Mercury Iridium and I am a friend of Eragon Shadeslayer, the reason for my running to his tent, is because I believe I may have found a way to change the course of war, and I am in need of his knowledge about certain subjects".

"Is there anyone who can confirm your friendship with the Shadeslayer?", the other guard spoke.

"The elven ambassador Arya can, along with King Orik, Nasuada and possibly Blödhgarn", Mercury said as he thought of a list of people who could verify what he had said and still held some sort of influence.

The two guards did not respond for a moment, but then the first said,"you have been verified by Arya Dröttningu. We will ask the Shadeslayer if he wishes to speak with you at this hour".

They removed the tip the blade from his neck and let him stand, one of the guards then entered the tent, and left Mercury with the other guard at his side.

"So, how did you know, that I don't know a word in the Ancient language?", Mercury asked, intrigued that they had guessed this without a mental probe or knowledge about who he was.

"We knew you did not know the Ancient language, because we discussed the best way to kill you and dump your body, where it would not be found, and you did not even twitch", the elven guard said with a completely emotionless mask.

The elven guard that had ventured inside Eragon's tent came out again, "the Shadeslayer has agreed to see you".

As Mercury entered the tent, he noticed that the tent was a lot larger than his own, but despite its size it was very spartanly decorated. A cot in the corner, a small table with a chair and a mirror and a chest was all the furniture that resided in the tent.

"So, what did you want to speak about?", Eragon yawned from the cot.

"Well, actually I came to speak about magic", Mercury said as he went over the arguments in his head.

"Yeah, what about magic?", Eragon said with curiosity seeping into his voice.

"As I understand it, magic is the manipulation of energy from one form onto another. For example magic can be converted to heat and light by making a flame or used as kinetic, sorry motion energy, when you move something around", Mercury said.

"Go on", Eragon said as he seemed to lose interest in the seemingly simple understanding of magic.

"But in my world, we have proved that something cannot come out of nothing, and therefore the energy used in magic must have a source. If we could find the original source of energy, then we could control all the magic energy in the world and end this war right now", Mercury said with confidence in his idea.

"I am sorry to have to tell you, but that source of energy has already been discovered", Eragon said with sympathy in his voice, "the source of a magician's magic energy is his body. When the magician uses magic, he uses a part of his body's energy reserves, just like when you lift a rock or run. The amount of energy a magician has available is dependent on his body's energy, if he uses more energy than his body has in it, then he dies, but he can store some of his energy in gemstones and crystals for later use".

Mercury was feeling very sad that he had not been able to solve all their problems just then and there, and at the same time extremely happy that he had never exceeded his body's previously unknown limitation, when he had experimented with magic. _So the energy comes from the body, but can be stored in gemstones and crystals, that is interesting. I wonder if salt could be used to store energy inside, it has the crystalline build, but maybe that is not enough. I will have to investigate on that later_.

"I am sorry to have woken you with this useless idea, but I do have one last question that I hope you will answer, before I leave you to sleep", Mercury said while sounding sorry.

"What question is that?", Eragon said as he began to get ready to sleep again.

"How do you store energy inside a gemstone?", Mercury said with curiosity clear in his voice.

"You extend your mind to it and push some of the energy in your body into the gem", Eragon answered.

"Thank you, that has given me an idea, but it can wait", Mercury said as he existed the tent and headed towards his own tent.

**Arya POV (Next day)  
**Arya had just finished setting up her tent. She had marched alongside Nasuada all day, where she had been discussing strategies, supply lines and her mother's army. Right now she felt a little bit tired, which was unusual for her, as it was still early in the evening.

She knew exactly why she was feeling like she was: Mercury had been requesting to see Eragon during the middle of the night, and had listed her as a person who could verify his story, so naturally the elven guards had woken her. She would not have been upset if something useful had come out of the meeting, but according to Eragon, Mercury had just been asking about the source of magic and how one might store it.

Arya had been closely monitoring Mercury's actions since the time he had arrived, her mother had demanded it of her, and she was curious about the stranger herself. She knew that Angela had prophesized that he would change the future of Alagaësia, but she had not seen a single hint, as to how he was supposed to do that.

He had started training with a sword and defending his mind with Eragon the day after he had arrived. He was not particularly skilled with a sword, but she had to admit, he was sometimes quite creative in his duels. She could not directly check up on how his mental defences were progressing, but according to Eragon, he was exceptionally skilled at defending it. Aside from these training lessons, Arya had found Mercury's favourite spot to be the library, and according to the librarian he had finished reading nearly half the library, starting with the customs of the races of Alagaësia.

Arya had been impressed by his exceptional reading skills, but reading did not win wars. She had however concluded that since he had started with the customs of the races of Alagaësia, he was smart enough to try and prepare for any future encounters.

She had been very surprised, when she had heard about the wager against King Orik, as had her mother, but what had astonished her even more was the friendship that seemed to have formed from that single wager. Mercury had in one move secured the dwarves support; a move that her mother and her self had agreed had showed a keen political awareness in the young human, but again politicians did not win wars when the players had already united against their common foe.

_I think I will go and check up on him_, Arya thought to herself, as she walked to the outskirts of the camp.

She knocked on the tent pole, and when she heard him saying, "enter", she walked in. The tent was small in comparison to her's, but Mercury did not seem to be bothered by this. His strange sleeping mat and sleeping bag was lying on the ground, an even stranger travelling back stood against the other tent pole, but what captured Arya's attention was the small barrel situated next to a crouching Mercury.

Mercury seemed to be dividing salt into different piles. Arya noted that one pile had the largest salt crystals, another had the cleanest, a third had unclean ones, a fourth the tiniest and a fifth had the standard salt crystals.

A minute passed without him saying anything or in any other way acknowledging that she was there, and then two more minutes passed before Arya coughed to get his attention. At first he did not seem to react, so she coughed a little louder and was rewarded with Mercury finally standing and facing her.

"Oh, I am sorry Arya svit-kona, I was not aware that it was you who had entered", Mercury said in a voice that in no way gave indications of being surprised to see her.

"Thank you, but you could not have known since I never introduced myself", Arya said simply to acknowledge his apology.

"So what did you want?", Mercury asked.

_What do I want?_, Arya thought to herself, _I can't tell him I have been spying on him and my reason for coming here was to check up on him, but what should I say then_.

"I wanted to learn why you wanted to talk to Eragon last night", Arya said despite knowing what had been discussed.

"I just thought, I had figured out a way to control all the magic in the world, or at least a way to find a way to control it, but my understanding of magic was faulted. I had believed that all magic originated from a common source of energy, but Eragon told me that the energy originated from the magician's body, and that it could be stored in gemstones and crystals for later use", Mercury said with a slight hint of sadness in his voice.

Arya was just about to offer a sympathetic reply, but was interrupted by Mercury's suddenly excited voice, "Actually, you could help me with an experiment, I have been preparing. Eragon unfortunately had other duties to tend to, but he once said you were as good if not a better spell caster than him, so you should be able to do just fine".

Arya felt slightly happy about Eragon praising her talents, but she was also slightly concerned about what a normal human, who had no idea, that the energy of magic originated from your own body, until he was told last night, could need an experienced spell caster for an experiment. She figured it might have something to do with the salt piles, but she needed to know exactly what she was volunteering to, "What exactly do you need my help with? I figure it has something to do with the salt piles, but I fail to see the purpose".

Mercury looked thoughtful for a second before replying, "You know how you can store energy in gemstones and other crystals right? Well I figured that since salt has a crystalline build, then maybe it could be used to store energy too. If it works we could have a much cheaper and much more abundant energy storage system. All I need from you is to try and store a bit of your energy in each of these salt piles, so that we can determine which salt crystals are more efficient".

Arya's curiosity quickly overpowered her concerns, and before she knew it she was transferring the exact same amount of energy to each of the salt piles. Arya told Mercury that she had observed that the unclean pile of salt had the lowest capacity for storage, while the clean one had the second highest and the pile of large crystals had the highest.

Arya could clearly see the potentials in the idea and she knew no one else would ever have thought of it. _No one thinks of salt as more than seasoning, but somehow this human has spotted a potential value in the ordinary salt_, Arya mused to herself, _maybe this is how Mercury will influence the war. Not by fighting in the front lines like Eragon and myself, or staying in the back discussing tactics, but by seeing the possibilities that no one else would notice_.

"We have to show this to the leaders", Arya said to Mercury with enthusiasm, while secretly adding,_ and especially to my mother. Maybe this will change her mind on the humans' value, and let her see that I was right in spending all that time among the Varden_.

Mercury cut her thoughts with a single word, "no".

"NO!", Arya exclaimed, "why would you even try this if you do not want to show it".

"I meant: no, not yet. I don't know all of the repercussions using salt instead of gemstones might have, and until I at least have some inkling of an idea, I do not believe it to be wise to use it on a mass scale", Mercury reasoned.

Arya could see his point, no one had ever used salt instead of gemstones and it would be a good idea, to at least know some of the potential consequences before using it on the whole rebellion, but she still needed assurances that he would reveal their discovery if no significant consequences were found, so she said, "I can see your point, but I need to be sure that you will reveal this if no consequences are found".

"Alright, I promise to reveal our discovery if I do not find any significant consequences", Mercury said

"In the Ancient language", Arya said while looking sternly at Mercury.

"I will give the same sentence in the language of no lies, if you tell me how to say it", Mercury replied without looking the least bit concerned that he would be binding himself to his promise.

A half hour later Arya exited Mercury's tent, but she noted to herself that it would not be the last time she visited him. _You never know when or how he might surprise again_, she mused to herself as she walked back to her own tent.


	7. A game of chess

Well I finally finished my detailed plotline of the rest of the story, which I had decided not to do until writing the 12th chapter, and I would like to thank Restrained. Freedom(sorry about the space between, but it won't let me write your name otherwise) for input on an important matter. I chose him partly because I once had a very good discussion with him about a matter not related to this story and valued it very much and partly because I knew he did not read my story and therefore I would not need to wonder about spoilers.

Btw is it just me or had fanfiction been kind of dead lately? I know that many people have exams and such, but all they needed to do was make a buffer beforehand, and then they could still post chapters while reading up on the exams.

* * *

**A game of chess**

**Mercury POV  
**Arya had visited Mercury several times a week during the last two weeks, she had initially always started by requiring about the progress of the salt, but eventually she had just stopped talking about it. Mercury had shown her his homemade chess board and -pieces during one of her first visits, and had after much persuasion convinced her to play a game with him. She had initially viewed it as a simple game, but after playing a match, which ended in her total defeat, she had admitted that the game had some deeper levels to it and had agreed to play a game twice a week.

"My pawn takes your knight", Arya said and moved her pawn to take his knight with a smug on her face, "does something distract you from the game?"

"Well I have been considering to abandon the salt energy storage project", Mercury said as he thought about his next move.

"Why, what has happened?", Arya asked as she took her eyes from the board for the first time during their game.

"I have run into some obstacles, that I have had no luck in removing, and frankly I don't think I ever will", Mercury said in a slightly defeated voice.

"What kind of obstacles? What has happened?", Arya said in a concerned voice.

"You know how you were not able to deposit a particularly large amount of energy into the salt during our first try?", Mercury said as he moved his bishop to take the pawn that had just taken his knight.

"Yes, but you said we might make do with larger crystals", Arya said while surveying the board yet again.

"Yeah, it was actually a good thing, we never were able to deposit large amounts of energy into the salt", Mercury answered while studying her eyes for a hint of her plan, "I discovered that in order to place a decent amount of energy into a single salt crystal, it had to be at least the size of a small gravel stone. I then had one of Orik's magicians fill it up until no more energy could be stored in it, but at a later time I accidently broke it, and the energy stored up in the salt crystal was released at once".

Arya looked up with a concerned look on her face as she said, "how much energy was released, and what did it do once it was released?"

Mercury chuckled slightly as he said, "well the exact amount of energy released is approximately the energy required to send me flying 10 m. back with burns on my hands and face, and I guess you now also know what it did after it was released".

"You are lucky it did not do more than that", Arya said while moving a pawn away, so she could move her queen, "but you have yet to tell me, why we can't simply use a bunch of smaller salt crystals instead of the large ones that break so easily".

"Arhh, my experience with the large salt crystal reminded me that all salt crystal are actually very fragile and easily break. This means that if we had a pouch of small salt crystals, then they would rub against one another and eventually break, the break would release enough energy to possibly break several other crystals and a chain reaction, that ended in the entire pouch going off, would occur,", Mercury said, while trying to think of a way to restrain her queen's movement.

"I can see how that would be a problem. I am glad we did not initiate a full scale switch to salt crystals as our new energy storage system, the entire Varden might have blown up", Arya said.

"Yeah, that would have been kind of bad for our winning chances against Galbatorix. Perhaps we should try to leak the information about the salt storage system to the rest of the Varden, and then hope his spies learn of it and he decides to use it in his own army", Mercury said while laughing slightly, which then turned to a serious expression as he moved his bishop to take Arya's rook, "I believe you said something about my game being off".

"What the, how did you, had you planned to sacrifice your knight all along?", Arya said while feverously scanning the rest of the board for more potential traps.

"Yes, if you want to master this game, you have to learn to make sacrifices", Mercury said in a tutoring voice, "I sacrificed my knight, and in doing so I took out one of your pawns and a rook, which is far more valuable than the knight. I am however impressed by how far you have come in only three matches. You should be proud to be this good already".

"It still is not every day, that I get beaten by person almost a hundred years younger than me", Arya said as she thought about how the exploding salt crystal story reminded her of Eragon accidently destroying a magic lantern in Farthen Dur, "you know, that exploding salt story reminds me of a story about Eragon".

"Do pray tell. I would love to hear that story. It sounds like a fun one", Mercury said with curiosity seeping into his voice.

"It was doing the time the dwarves needed a new king", Arya started her story as she moved yet another piece on the chess board,"Eragon had been sent alone to Tronjheim by Nasuada, to try and quicken the election process. During a break in the proceedings, he had chosen to explore some of the tunnels under Farthen Dur along with his four guards, when he was ambushed by seven assassins. The assassins had increased speed and poisoned weapon, but Eragon and his guards fought on. One of Eragon's guards, Kvîstor, died during the struggle to save Eragon's life. During the fight Eragon accidently broke one of the magic lanterns, which then caused a large explosion and ended the fight".

"How large was the explosion?", Mercury asked with interest while having the look in his eyes, that he always had when an idea had occurred to him.

"Pretty large, Orik said they could feel the tremors in all of Farthen Dur", Arya answered while clearly noticing the look in his eyes.

"Hmm interesting", Mercury stated while working on his new idea in his head, but if Arya was curious about the look and the statement she did not show. _Perhaps she has just figured, she probably would not understand the idea or how I got it, and have decided to simply wait for me to reveal it_, Mercury thought to himself.

They continued playing the game in silence for nearly an hour. Arya made some good moves, but there simply were not enough to win the game. As they neared the end of the game Arya only had three pawns, a king and a knight, while Mercury had two rooks, a bishop, a knight, a king and five pawns. Mercury had trapped her king in a small area of the board, but was having difficulties pinning it down, due to the knight and pawns.

"It seems like you are having trouble finishing me off", Arya chuckled, clearly having already accepted her inevitable defeat, but was still constantly finding ways to prolong it.

"Only until my pawn gets to your baseline, then I can have my queen back and finish it", Mercury said as he moved his pawn closer to her baseline.

"I have been wondering about something for the past hour", Arya said, as she moved her knight to try and force Mercury to move his bishop, and thereby stall his queen's return.

"Please tell, I was wondering why you were so quiet", Mercury said as he moved his bishop to safety with an irritated expression.

"I may have only known you for a short while, but I could recognize that look you had in your eyes, after I told the story of Eragon's trip to Farthen Dur, anywhere. It is the look of someone who has just gotten an idea", Arya said as she moved her knight back behind her defensive line, "and seeing as the story revolved around an explosion, I thought it a good idea to offer to set a few wards against fire, heat and minor shockwaves".

"What are wards?", Mercury asked while he absentmindedly moved his pawn into her baseline and replaced it with his queen.

Arya looked thoughtful for a moment before answering, "a ward is a kind of invisible shield, that magicians can cast to protect against certain events. I can for example design a ward that stops all things from moving close to me, but that would mean that I could not eat, wash or grab a sword, so you have to be specific about what you want the ward to protect against".

"I see, but what powers the ward, does it take the energy directly out of your body or do you place a certain amount of energy into the ward when you cast it?", Mercury asked, while completely neglecting the game.

"You can both design the ward to suck out energy from your own body or another energy source, or you can place a certain amount of energy into the ward and leave it at that", Arya answered the question, while looking slightly happier.

"How long does it last? Does energy seep out from the ward during the time it is still inactive?", Mercury said, seemingly not able to stop his flow of questions on this new and exciting subject.

Arya chuckled for a moment before saying, "you know, you almost ask just as many questions as Eragon".

"I am sorry if my questioning annoys you, but to me this information is quite valuable", Mercury said in a voice that in no way showed him being sorry.

"It is alright, but it is getting late and I have a few things to take care of before I go to bed, so I will be bidding you a goodnight", Arya said as she stood up and prepared to leave.

"Wait", Mercury shouted, "if you would still like to give me the wards, I would be honoured to accept them".

"Oh, I almost forgot", Arya said, as she began setting the wards around Mercury, "there now you should not be burned to a crisp if something goes wrong".

"Thanks", Mercury mumbled, as he watched Arya leave the tent.

_Hmm, I wonder why she seemed slightly happier, when she answered my endless stream of questions_, Mercury thought to himself, _perhaps it has something to do with Eragon. She did compare my questioning to Eragon's apparently endless questions._

As he wondered about what had Arya slightly happier, Mercury started to prepare his meal, the course of the day: Cold potatoes with some vegetables and a fish, he would roast later.

_It does not live up to my usual meals back home, but I guess I might as well get used to it. After all, I don't know how long it takes, until I can get back home_, Mercury thought to himself as he absentmindedly reached for a bowl of salt to season the fish.

After seasoning the fish, he quickly roasted it on a small fire outside his tent. When the fish was done, he started to eat his dinner, but his thoughts kept returning to Arya's strange happiness with answering questions.

_Maybe it was not the questions themselves that made her happy_, Mercury mused to himself, _perhaps it was the simple act of asking questions, but why would she be fond of that? I have never heard of her having an interest in teaching, and she does not strike me as a person who would be pleased with simply sitting around tutoring strangers_.

Suddenly the answer struck Mercury, _She said the reason herself: my questioning reminded her of Eragon. I think she might be in love with Eragon, and I know he likes her, you would have to be blind to not see that. Every time he looks upon her, it looks like he is a drowning man looking up at the air just behind a layer of ice. But I have never seen any similar reactions from her, I wonder if she is just that good at suppressing her feelings or whether she simply does not know they are there. It might be that she has unconsciously tied his trademark questioning to her own fondness of him. If that is so, then how can I make her realize what she does not know herself_?

Mercury kept pondering this question for a long time. He would have to make her show her feelings, but without her knowing of Mercury's involvement. If she found out, she might believe he was trying to manipulate her. _She would not be wrong, but I think she will be better off with my involvement_, Mercury mused to himself.

Mercury knew the answer to confronting her feelings lied in the questioning, but he had to make sure the surrounding conditions were right. She had to be isolated from prying ears and eyes, and preferably without her feeling like she was neglecting her duty. Eragon had to be present as well, as Mercury was confident he could make Eragon do what needed to be done, but Eragon could not know of the endgame in advance, because Eragon's body language would give his intentions away immediately.

As Mercury pondered the dilemma, he noticed that he was not feeling the slightest bit tired. It was almost like he had slept a few hours ago. _Strange_, Mercury thought to himself, _I wonder what could have caused this. Perhaps it was the fish, it did taste slightly off_.

As Mercury uncovered the reason to his own predicament, he also discovered a way to enact his plan to bring Arya and Eragon together.


	8. Around the campfire

Heh, funny suggestion by lovec1990, I don't believe I have read any fanfics, which established a new bond with Shurikan and a character. I have read some, where Shurikan has retained some sanity and chooses to aid the heroes, but I can assure you that that is not the case here. I made this fanfic to see how the addition of a character would affect the original plotline, which means that I will skip some parts if there is no change between the original storyline and my storyline, as I do not intend to bore you with the same chapters, as there are in the book. I will always write at the bottom of the chapter if I intend to skip parts in favour of the book' version and when the next chapter will start from.

Oh, one last thing: I will be attending a Lan during the whole of next week, but unlike so many others, I have actually prepared for such eventualities, so although the hour at which I upload may be shifted a little, due to some irregular sleeping patterns, I will definitely be uploading chapters.

* * *

**Around the campfire**

**Eragon POV(This is set the day evening after last chapter)  
**Eragon had noticed that Mercury had made strange requests during the last two weeks. He had requested barrels of salt, occasional dwarven magicians, mortars and several other types of equipment that usually belonged in a laboratory and not in an army, last night he had even requested several different chemicals that Eragon had never even heard of, and when some of his request occasionally could not be met, he had simply requested a set of plants, rocks or other common materials. This however was not what surprised Eragon the most, what surprised Eragon the most was the fact that Arya had insisted on fulfilling his strange requests. Eragon had tried to ask Arya why she was so adamant on fulfilling Mercury's requests, but she had simply shrugged and said that she had promised not to tell anybody.

Eragon was currently bathing in a stream in a nearby forest, with Saphira curled up on the shore to ensure privacy. The water was a bit cold, the effects of the approaching winter, but Eragon did not mind. He had spent the day in a meeting with Nasuada and the other leaders, discussing the effects of the approaching winter and the Varden's plans. It had been decided that when they reached Belatona in three weeks, they would stay there for only a single week, and then move on to capture Dras-Leona to spend the winter there.

_Little one, you should get out of the water before you catch a cold_, Saphira thought to him, while lazily looking upon him with only a half open eye.

As Eragon started dressing, he heard a soft thud from a footprint a little away, and quickly reached for Brisingr and unsheathed it, while still only wearing his trousers.

"Show yourself", Eragon shouted to the unknown person, while mentally asking Saphira why she had not warned him of the intruder.

_The wind is downhill, the scent is blowing away from me_, Saphira scolded him, as she raised her head to inspect the newcomer, while curling her lips a bit to show her teeth.

"Ho there, it is just me", Mercury said as he stepped out from the shadows of a tree, "I can come back a little later, when you have properly dressed".

As Eragon recognized Mercury, he sheathed Brisingr and Saphira went back to her previous position. Eragon quickly dressed and then asked Mercury what he was during here.

"I was actually looking for you. I have been searching for quite some time now", Mercury said as he turned to face Eragon again.

"Why are you looking for me?", Eragon said, as he ransacked his brain for possible reasons, Mercury would spend so much time looking for him.

"For several reasons, the foremost being that I wanted to give you something and two advices", Mercury said mysteriously.

_Isn't he beginning to sound more and more like Angela?_, Eragon asked Saphira.

_Perhaps, but I don't believe they spend any time together. Besides I still like him_, Saphira answered.

_Of course you like him, he gives you a new compliment every time he meets you, you vain overgrown lizard_, Eragon thought with a bit of mirth seeping into his thoughts, _it is actually odd he has not given you any yet_.

_What is there not to compliment, and he already has. He said my mighty fangs could scare off an urzhad_, Saphira said with pride.

"Will you tell me those advices or should I guess them?", Eragon asked Mercury, while fighting a chuckle from his conversation with Saphira.

"Actually first I want to give you this", Mercury said as he reached into one of his pockets, withdrew a small pouch and then handed it to Eragon.

Eragon opened the pouch with curiosity and excitement, but to his surprise it only contained a small amount of common salt, "why did you give me salt?"

"Oh, it is not just salt", Mercury chuckled, "it is a special kind of salt. If you take it to Arya she will know what it is. Actually, that brings to mind my first piece of advice: when you show it to Arya, try to figure out what would happen if one were to eat it".

"Why would anyone try to eat it raw?", Eragon asked confused by the strange advice.

"Trust me, Arya will explain it", Mercury simply said and turned to leave.

"Wait, you have not told me the second advice yet", Eragon shouted to the now turning Mercury.

Mercury looked over his shoulder, and looked Eragon directly in the eyes as he said, "After you figure out what the salt does, you should ask Arya about all that puzzles you, but don't go into detail about her personal life".

As Eragon pondered the strange advices and the mysterious salt in his hand, Mercury walked silently into the forest and quickly faded out of sight.

_What do you think about his advices Saphira? Should I follow them?_, Eragon asked his always loving partner of heart and mind.

_I think that, although he occasionally acts a little strange, you should not dismiss his advice easily. Remember that, although we have not always known why he did what he did, it always seemed like he had a plan with what he did_, Saphira said wisely.

_Yeah, but I don't like it when I feel like he is using me as an instrument in his plans_, Eragon answered.

_I don't think he would want any harm to come to you little one_, Saphira said while sending reassuring emotions through their link.

_All right Saphira, will you join me as I search for Arya?_, Eragon asked, comforted and reassured by his dragon.

_No, I think I will go hunting. Mercury said he spotted some good looking deer further up the stream_, Saphira said as she prepared to take off.

_How much did he say to you, that I don't know about?_, Eragon asked confused, as he noticed a small part of her brain that was cut off from him.

_Some, but nothing of importance to you at the moment_, Saphira said as she took off.

Confused by his dragon's response, Eragon started walking towards camp to look for Arya. He found her half an hour later sitting near an empty campfire in the outskirts of camp. She was sitting with her knees under her chin and arms wrapped around them, while staring into the fire. The light of the fire danced across her face, making her look even more beautiful than Eragon could ever remember.

"What a strange thing to find you sitting near a campfire in the outskirts of camp", Eragon said as he approached the campfire.

"Why do you find it strange?", Arya said as she raised her head, tilted it slightly and looked into his eyes.

"It is just, that I have never seen you at a campfire while you were with the Varden. I hope I am not interrupting you in anything", Eragon cautiously said.

"Not at all, I was just thinking about recent events", Arya said as she turned her head back to look at the fire.

"Do you mind if I join you, I actually have something to think about too", Eragon said as he made to sit down at the opposite end of the campfire.

"I would appreciate the company, but do pray tell, what is it that has you wondering?", Arya said with a small smile, as she looked up to meet Eragon face.

Eragon felt bad that she immediately turned from her own problems to help him with his. He did not mind talking about Mercury and his strange salt, in fact Mercury had insisted upon him doing so, but he still felt like he should somehow try to help with Arya's problems, so he figured he might make a deal.

"I will tell you what I have been wondering about, if you first tell me what troubles you", Eragon said in a caring voice.

"I don't want to burden you with problems that are not yours to worry about", Arya said in a slightly dismissive voice.

"It would not be a burden Arya", Eragon pressed on.

"You are too stubborn for your own good", Arya said, but a small smile on her lips told Eragon she would oblige, so he simply waited for her to continue.

"I was thinking about Mercury, or rather his safety", Arya chuckled.

"What about his safety?", Eragon asked genuinely interested.

"As you know, he has been making some strange requests recently, but what you don't know is why", Arya started as she looked right into Eragon's eyes, "I can now tell you the reason for his requests because his experiments has ended, but unfortunately in failure."

"What has he been experimenting on?", Eragon interrupted.

"You know back when he requested to see you in the middle of the night?", Arya asked mysteriously.

"Yeah, he wanted to know about the source of magic", Eragon said as he thought back to the night two weeks ago.

"The evening after I walked to his tent to inquire why that had been so important", Arya said, "he told me that your discussion had given him an idea about storing energy in salt crystal, but since you were busy, he requested my help to try it".

"Did it work?", Eragon said, seemingly unable to stop his curiosity.

Another small smile graced Arya's lips as she responded to his question, "It did work to some degree, but we decided it would be best to not reveal his discovery yet, because as he put it: We don't know all of the repercussions of using salt instead of gemstones".

"How is this connected with Mercury's safety?", Eragon asked confused.

"He decided to test the salt on his own, and at one time he apparently broke a large salt crystal, he had procured and filled to the brim with energy. The energy trapped inside of the salt broke out and threw him 10 m. back with burns on his hands and face", Arya explained, "the reason I worry, is that although I have since given him some wards against fire, heat and minor shockwaves, I don't know how he might be injured next. According to Angela he is going to play a big part in the outcome of Alagaësia, but he is almost as reckless in his dealings with the unknown as you are".

"I see. I don't think you should worry too much. He is a smart man, he is sure to take better precautions in the future", Eragon said to comfort Arya, "that actually reminds me of what I was going to talk about".

"Oh, what did you want to talk about", Arya said with a slight bit of curiosity seeping into her voice.

"Mercury gave me this pouch of special salt, which I now guess is the same salt you described, and told me to try and figure out what it would do if one ate it", Eragon said while taking out the pouch, he neglected to mention the fact, that Mercury had told him to find Arya, so that they could figure it out together.

"Strange", Arya said as she studied the pouch, "I don't think he would have given it to you if he believed it to be dangerous, but I would not recommend eating it either".

As Eragon put the pouch on the ground next to him, Arya surprised him by walking around the campfire and sitting down next to him, but still with the salt pouch in between them. Eragon was naturally happy with having Arya so close to him, but he was also slightly nervous about the close proximity and what it could mean. He would normally have asked Saphira for advice, but since she was still out hunting, he had to rely on his own instincts.

Eragon picked up the pouch from the ground and opened it slightly to remove a single salt crystal from it and placed it on his outstretched finger.

"What do you think its effects would be?", he asked Arya as he studied the salt on his finger.

"I honestly don't know", Arya said as her eyes studied the salt on Eragon's finger, "but if I were to guess I would either say that it released its energy into your body upon digesting and thereby gave your body the energy stored within it, or it releases the energy inside your body in a smaller, but similar way to what happened when Mercury broke it".

Eragon's had great trouble keeping his curiosity at bay, he really wanted to find out what mysteries could happen if he were to eat the salt, but his rational part of his brain told him not to do it.

After both Shadeslayers had stared at the salt on Eragon's for about a minute, Eragon could no longer control his curiosity and said, "I guess there is only one way to find out", and as he said this, he moved his finger towards his mouth.

He was however stopped by Arya, who had his hand in an iron grip with one hand, while using the other to snatch the salt crystal away from his finger.

"I won't let the Varden's only hope of defeating Galbatorix die because of something he ate", she said while looking him straight in the eyes, "but I know your curiosity will get the better of you some day, so I might as well quench it now". As she finished saying it, she took the salt crystal, put it in her mouth and swallowed.

Eragon looked at Arya with the greatest concern, he would have never let any harm fall upon her, but it was even worse if that harm had come because of his stupid curiosity. He faintly noted that as they both waited for any sort of reaction, her hand never ceased its grip on his.

They stayed in that position for close to half an hour without any reaction, if anyone had seen them, they would surely have looked like they were fighting a mental battle.

Finally Arya broke the silence and said, "I guess it did not do anything after all".

"Aye, it might have no effects on elves", Eragon silently said, while still looking directly into her eyes. He found the entire experience to be both exhilarating and unimaginable intimate.

Arya seemed to take notice that her hand still had Eragon's in an iron grip, and quickly released it with a short apology, but Eragon found that he actually missed the iron grip, despite the small pain it had caused him.

Eragon then picked up the pouch with one hand and with his now free hand, he took a new salt crystal out of the pouch and placed it on his tongue. He had been curious about whether the salt somehow tasted different, but all he could taste was the usual salt taste.

They sat like that, without anyone saying anything, for almost fifteen minutes before Eragon remembered the second piece of advice Mercury had given him: When they had discovered the effects of the salt he should ask Arya about anything that puzzled him, but without intruding upon her personal life.

Eragon was hesitant to break the silence, because he feared the moment might be ruined, but then again, Mercury had advised him to study the effects of the salt with Arya. After gathering the courage to proceed, Eragon finally broke the silence and began asking Arya all sorts of questions that had puzzled him for so long. Eragon noticed that Arya lit a small smile at his questions, and her mood seemed to improve as more questions followed.

They kept talking well into the night; neither of them felt the least bit tired, in fact Eragon could only describe it, as feeling like he had just slept. The topics ranged from important Varden matters to seemingly unimportant trivial matters, but Eragon felt like each of the topics had the utmost of importance.

Sometime in the middle of the night Eragon and Arya lay down next to each other, they were still wide awake, neither of them feeling any indication of being tired. Their hands were folded together, but neither mentioned the contact for fear of breaking the moment. The two Shadeslayers were simply content to lie next to each other and gaze at the stars in silence, hoping the moment could last forever.

Suddenly a ball of fire lit the night, quickly followed by the shockwave of an explosion.

* * *

Da Da Da...cliffhanger?

Edit: just realized the error in the start, have no idea how I missed it.


	9. A light in the night

Heh, almost everyone has automatically assumed the explosion was caused by Mercury, it amuses me to witness your opinion of him to be this...oh, and to those I have written to, know that I never actually de- or confirmed Mercury' part in the explosion.

* * *

**A light in the night**

**Eragon POV  
**Upon seeing the explosion Eragon quickly jumped to his feet followed swiftly by Arya. The explosion looked like it had originated in the outskirts of camp, the very same outskirts where Mercury resided. Eragon worried whether his friend was hurt, as he and Arya started running towards where the explosion had been, now there was simply a small fire lighting the night.

"I think Mercury might have been near the explosion", Arya said as they ran, "I can feel my wards have lost almost all their energy".

In the small time it took to run from their small campfire to Mercury's tent; Eragon was contacted by Trianna, Blödhgarn and Saphira. They had all asked where he was, if he was all right and whether the Varden was under attack.

Upon arriving at the sight of the explosion Eragon noticed that the Varden soldiers where either in a state of panic or were trying to organize a defence against an ambush. The only damage Eragon could see so far was Mercury's tent burning and a small sod covered crater just outside Mercury's tent. Eragon guessed that the explosion had occurred right outside Mercury's tent, and praised luck for the fact that Mercury had placed his tent so far out of camp, because if he had placed it inside the middle of the camp, like he had been offered, the fire might have spread to the rest of the Varden.

Arya seemed to have noticed the origin of the explosion too, because as she started running towards Mercury's tent, Eragon could hear her muttering a silent curse. Eragon quickly followed Arya, and as they ran towards Mercury's tent, they noticed Mercury running in and out of his burning tent, trying to rescue his belongings.

Eragon could not stop himself from asking, despite his mind telling him to look for injuries on Mercury and extinguish the fire, "what happened here?"

"I will tell you in a moment, if you help me rescue my belongings before they burn to a crisp", Mercury said, as he ran back into the tent to fetch more of his belongings.

Eragon and Arya quickly extinguished the fire with magic, but before they could ask Mercury what had happened a company of fully armed Varden soldiers arrived. Although they appeared ready to fight any unknown enemy, Eragon could still see the fear in their eyes.

"Where are our attackers Shadeslayer?", the commander asked.

Eragon took a quick look at Mercury, who was busy assessing the damage to his belongings, and then a look towards Arya for confirmation, which she replied with a small bird-like nod, before he replied to the commander, "There are no attackers tonight commander. I am sure the explosion was an accident, but I have yet to learn what has happened myself. You may return to your tents and rest, and please try and spread the message that the Varden is not under attack".

The commander took a quick look at the small crater and then at Mercury before he complied and ordered his men to return to camp. Eragon spent the next 30 minutes explaining with his mind to Nasuada, Trianna, Blödhgarn, King Orrin, King Orik and various commanders, who brought their own troops to help with the apparent ambush, that there was no immediate threat to the Varden. Almost all of the leaders wanted an extensive report on what exactly had happened and how it had happened, but Eragon merely promised that as soon as he found out himself, he would give a proper explanation.

As soon as he was done speaking with the leaders, Eragon turned towards Mercury, who was currently sitting on the ground, while Arya probed him for injuries and healed the minor bruises and burns that had formed despite of her wards.

"I believe you owe us an explanation", Eragon said in a strict but not unfriendly tone, the discussions with the various leaders had left him in an irritated mood.

"Aye, I believe I might", Mercury said, as he looked down into the ground for a moment before looking back at Eragon, who now sat besides Arya on the ground, "I trust that Arya has explained the idea, I had of using salt as a new storage system instead of gems and the problems I have encountered with this?"

"She has", Eragon confirmed, despite a sense in his mind telling him that Mercury already knew of this.

"When I told her about my problems, and how I had encountered them, she said it reminded her of how you broke a magic lantern in Farthen Fur", Mercury continued.

Eragon took a quick glance at Arya, who faintly nodded, before he interrupted Mercury's tale, "is that what happened here? Did Orik lend you a magic lantern, which you then broke?"

"No, but the story did give me an idea for my empowered salt", Mercury continued, before stopping for a moment to search for the right words, "I figured that if I could just stabilize the energy in the salt, and have it attach to the chemical structure instead of the...never mind, but safe to say that I wanted to bind the energy in the salt more permanently. The energy would have been bound so tightly that you could not take it out of the salt again with your mind or if the salt crystal broke, but it would release itself if a specific fuse was used".

Eragon felt a lot of questions enter his mind, but unlike before he kept them at bay and did not interrupt Mercury's tale.

"I spent almost all of last night and today to come up with the right way to do this", Mercury said, as he started scratching letters, numbers and symbols, that made no sense to Eragon or Arya, in the ground, "I tried to make some right after we made camp, and I actually succeeded, the fuses where much simpler to make than the salt, and later I decided a small test would be in order".

_I told you he would find a way to kill himself before we even reached Belatona_, Arya said in Eragon's mind, her voice was half full of anger and half full of mirth.

Eragon had a hard time fighting a chuckle before he responded with a voice completely full of mirth, _so you think he is worse at attracting trouble than myself?_

_At least with you, I can rest somewhat assured that either Saphira or your guards are with you to stop you from your own foolishness_, Arya said in playful voice.

_Oh, I did not know my safety kept you up at night. Perhaps I should just start taking a run alone once a week, to show you that I don't always get into trouble when I am alone_, Eragon answered in a slightly teasing voice.

Before Arya could respond, they were interrupted by Mercury, who had noticed that his audience was not paying attention anymore, "do you want me to finish my account on the events...or should I just leave you two alone for the night".

Eragon immediately brought his attention back towards Mercury, where he responded in a slightly higher voice than he intended, "I am sorry for the interruption, but we were discussing something of great importance". It was not a complete lie; to Eragon the conversation with Arya had been very important.

"Right", Mercury said in a voice that clearly showed he did not believe Eragon, before he continued in his normal voice, "as I said earlier, I wanted to make a small test, but as you can see, the test did not exactly go according to plan." As Mercury said the last part he released a small chuckle before continuing, "I thought I had full control over the size of the explosion. According to my calculations on how much energy, that had been locked in the salt, the explosion should have only filled the width of a bowl, but I guess that somewhere in the process of making the salt or perhaps the process that released the energy, there must have been some energy transferred from my materials".

Neither Eragon nor Arya said anything for a full minute, both contemplating Mercury's discovery and its implications. Finally it was Arya who broke the silence, "you are saying that, you have made a substance that makes an explosion the size of that crater despite being given far less energy?"

Mercury seemed to consider his next words carefully before replying with a simple, "Aye".

Eragon noticed, that Arya had clearly noticed Mercury's short pause before replying, an act he had not given that much thought, but he could see Arya gave it great significance. Eragon's own head swam with possible uses for this new invention; they could use it to open every gate, throw a lit bag with it at the enemy and bring down entire castles, but to his surprise, Arya said in a voice, that Eragon had never heard her use before with anyone, it was soft and had a special tone to it, which to Eragon almost seemed like she was asking permission for something, "will you teach the Varden to make more?"

Eragon had no idea how Mercury had obtained such a high standing with Arya, but all his speculations were swept aside, as Mercury uttered his answer in a strict but not unfriendly voice, "No, it would be wrong".

_No_, Eragon thought angrily to himself_, how can he say no? The entire Varden would be kissing his feet for this weapon, we could overthrow Galbatorix and bring peace back to Alagaësia, and he says no_.

Before Eragon had a chance to vent his anger, Arya said in the same voice, "could you please tell us the reasons for this?"

Eragon was now almost exploding with anger, _how can Arya be so composed to this? She surely has seen the possibilities as well as I have, but she remains calm_.

Mercury interrupted Eragon's thoughts as he started talking in a compassionate voice, which showed he knew how they must be feeling right now, "Remember when I first came before your leaders and they asked me to make weapons for them? The weapons I denied them all had at their core one simple thing, which unified them and made them work. In my world it is called gunpowder, and its function is to create a small controlled explosion, which then powers the weapons. If I were to teach the Varden to make more of my explosive salt, which is much more potent than gunpowder, then I might as well teach them how to use it properly, because those weapons would not be far behind. And since my reasoning for denying the weapons in the first place still stands, I see no other option, but to deny them again".

Eragon's anger lifted somewhat, but now that he had seen the possibilities of the weapons; he wanted to have more of an explanation to why Mercury would not allow these weapons in Alagaësia. In a stern but still friendly voice Eragon said to Mercury, "the first time you refused to make the weapons and was asked why, you said that Alagaësia was not at a high enough level of development. What did you mean by that and when will it be?"

Mercury looked Eragon straight in the eyes as he said, "I meant that because these weapons are so much more deadly, the amount of people in Alagaësia needs to correspond with that. As it is now, Alagaësia would be vastly depopulated if a war was ever fought with these weapons. The most important factor in when Alagaësia is ready... if ever... to have this kind of weaponry is your food and medical development. To put it simply: your farms don't produce enough crops to sustain a population that could survive fighting with these weapons".

Eragon's anger dissipated after hearing Mercury's reasons and as he looked at Arya's face, he could see she clearly understood the ramifications as well.

"I understand", was all Eragon could manage to say.

"Good", Mercury said simply, "I will however concede to make a small amount of the explosive salt, but I will be the one who safeguards it, and I will only concede to use it if no other way is possible".

Mercury's statement had caught both Eragon and Arya off guard, Eragon could not find heads and tails in why he would make it and yet not make it, but it was Arya who asked the question, which troubled Eragon's mind the most, "why would you concede to make a small amount of this explosive if you would not do the same with your gunpowder?"

Mercury had clearly been expecting this question, because he responded immediately, "the reason is simple: Gunpowder is easy to make, and if I were to request the necessary ingredients, then I might as well give its recipe away, but this new explosive salt is harder and more difficult to make. I have actually written the formulae to make it on the ground before you, but no one in Alagaësia would know how to replicate it simply from looking at the required ingredients, and therefore I don't have to worry about someone learning its secrets".

Eragon could see his point; he certainly did not understand any of what Mercury had written on the ground and he was pretty sure none in Alagaësia would. Mercury then surprised Eragon by asking a favour, "that reminds me, I would be happy if either of you taught me how to extend my mind, so that I do not require the aid of magicians. I have been trying to do so for a while, but it has had no effect".

"I do not know whether a non-magician human can even learn to extend their minds", Arya said as she looked at Eragon for confirmation.

"Brom said that everyone could learn to do it with the right training", Eragon said to Arya and then to Mercury he said, "Aye, I will help you extend your mind, I suggest we do it at the same time as the mental defence lessons".

"Thank you very much", Mercury said to Eragon, "by the way, how much of the empowered salt did you two eat?"

Confused by the sudden change of topic Eragon responded, "only a single salt crystal each, why?"

"Oh good, then your sleeping habits should return to normal in a short while", Mercury said mysteriously.

"What do you mean by our sleeping habits?", Arya asked in an inquisitive tone.

"Well...I discovered that if you eat the empowered salt, it will make you feel like you have just slept. I believe it is the energy stored inside the salt that does this, which also means that the more you eat of it, the longer it will take before you will be able to sleep again", Mercury explained.

"And how did you discover this?", Arya asked in a tone, which clearly showed, that she already had her suspicions and would not be happy if they were confirmed.

"I...accidently used some of the empowered salt as seasoning on my dinner last night", Mercury said, as he looked to the ground like a boy who was about to get yelled at for doing something, he was not allowed to do.

In a voice completely devoid of emotion Arya said, "since it does not seem to make any impact, when I continuously warn you not to do anything stupid, I will just say good night. Come Eragon, we are leaving".

Eragon bid Mercury a good night and followed Arya away from the tent, but to his surprise they were not going back to the Varden, but rather away from them. Eragon followed Arya as she strode into a forest glade, where she quickly cast a few spells to ensure privacy, before she turned towards Eragon and said, "we need to talk".

Eragon and Arya spent most of the night discussing what tonight had meant, and what they would do about it in the future. They both agreed that tonight had been nice, but they also agreed that they would not take the next step and become mates. In the end they agreed, that when time and place permits, they would take a walk together and talk, like back in Ellesméra, but that no one could know about this. In order to secure their secret, they would have to be spotted at different ends of camp, and then meet somewhere away from prying eyes and ears.

* * *

Know that this is NOT them agreeing to be a couple, this is merely an arrangement like the one in Ellesméra, but because people would be talking about them and their wish for privacy, they need to keep it quiet.


	10. Secrets shared and secrets kept

**Secrets shared and secrets kept**

**Mercury POV  
**It had been a week and a half since Mercury's accidental explosion. Mercury had managed to cover up the source of the explosion from most of the leaders, the only exception being Orik, which he had told personally.

Mercury had noticed that in the time since the explosion, Eragon and Arya had acted a little off. It was not something any one might notice, but Mercury had. The only clues to their behaviour had been their common disappearances from time to time, which had not been noticed by the rest of the Varden yet, because they had last been spotted at different ends of camp before disappearing.

Mercury was currently walking towards his usual training with Eragon and possibly Arya. Since the explosion Arya had participated in his training from time to time, but she had never been particularly stable in her attendances, and Mercury suspected that his training was not the reason for her attendance.

_This cannot go on_, Mercury mused to himself as he walked, _if they don't change their behaviour someone will begin to notice. It will be rumours at first, but once the rumours starts, then the political landscape will erupt, and until it is settled, the Varden will be too fractured to handle any unforeseen threats. I need this to go unnoticed at least until we have Dras-Leona, after that they will have all winter to sort this out_.

As Mercury neared the training area, he noticed that there were two people there: Eragon and Arya. _Oh good, then I won't have to find them later_, Mercury mused to himself, as he greeted them.

They both greeted him back, and swiftly after Mercury began to practise swordfighting with Eragon. Arya looked on from the sides, she would occasionally give advices, but mostly she just observed.

The training ended as usual with Mercury's total defeat, he had not scored a single mark on Eragon, but at least his own marks had decreased somewhat in numbers. Mercury knew that with the speed and strength of an elf, Eragon would be near impossible to defeat in an open fight, but seeing as this was just practice, Mercury did not mind the open fight.

They had chosen to skip the mental defence training, since Eragon had reasoned that unless Mercury would stand against the king or Murtagh, he would be able to stand his ground. Instead they chose to go directly to the exercise of extending your mind. Mercury still had a lot of problems with extending his mind, he had only done it successfully once, and that was when Eragon had helped him pull his mind out.

"Alright focus on me, try and let your mind wander like we practised earlier", Eragon said while sitting directly across from Mercury.

Mercury tried to do as he said, but it seemed like the more he tried to focus on Eragon, the less he let his mind wander. He continued to stare at Eragon for another 5 minutes without anything happening; suddenly he felt a consciousness brush against his own. It was not a hostile act, but at the same time it was not a consciousness he knew, and he did not trust it. He immediately erected his walls and forgot everything about letting his mind wander, but the consciousness did not attack.

After brushing against his walls for a couple of minutes, the consciousness seemed to withdraw to its source, but it left a kind of trail behind. Mercury was quite intrigued by the strange consciousness, and after a moment of hesitation, he decided to follow the trail. The trail felt both foreign and like the nature around Mercury, like something that was both part of the woods and yet not. Mercury could hear a slight melody, made of some wild musical tones, which seemed to draw him further along the trail.

At long last the trail seemed to end at a vast and powerful consciousness, Mercury had been too enthralled by the music to notice how far out his mind had wandered: his mind was currently very close to what he now recognized as Arya's mind. Upon noticing his mind's current position, he immediately retreated back into the confines of his own mind, Mercury was stunned that he had so easily been lured out of his own mind and into the open, by a consciousness he had not recognized.

"No, don't go back. You were doing so well", came Arya's sing song voice from her new position near Eragon.

"No I was not, it was you who pulled me from my mind", Mercury said with irritation clear in his voice. He was not irritated at Arya for trying to help him extend his mind, but he was very annoyed at himself for being that reckless with the safety of his own mind.

"I did not pull you from your mind; I simply brushed against it and then retreated to my own mind. It was you, and you alone, that followed me back", Arya said, "I have to admit Eragon, I did not entirely believe it was possible to teach him to extend his mind".

"I knew it would be possible, but I had doubts about how long it would take to do it", Eragon said as he looked at Arya. Arya looked back into Eragon's eyes and they stayed like that for almost a minute before Mercury brought them back to reality with a small cough.

"This is exactly what I need to talk to you two about", Mercury said as he shifted between looking at Eragon and looking at Arya.

"What do you mean?", Eragon said in a voice that was a little higher than it should have been.

"You two obviously", Mercury said as he sighed before continuing, "I know that you two are currently seeing each other much more than what everyone else thinks. I know that you have snuck out of different ends of camp and then decided to meet somewhere".

Eragon looked like he had just seen a ghost, his eyes were widened, his face was pale and he kept stealing glances at Arya to watch her reaction. Arya wore her impassive mask, but Mercury noticed that her hands had tensed, like she was expecting an attack.

"Please don't say anything to anyone", Eragon pleaded, "we are not a couple as such, but if Islanzadi or Nasuada found out, they would not care whether we were or not".

"Relax, I don't want to expose you", Mercury said and watched as they both visibly relaxed, "but this can't go on. If it continues this way, then I won't be the only one who notices".

"What would you have us do? Wait until after the war? We will be facing Galbatorix, the most powerful spellcaster in history, and it is highly possible that either of us dies", Arya said in a rare outburst of emotion.

Eragon looked at Arya with something akin to joy, it was not like Arya to show emotion, and now she had shown she cared more about their relationship than the possibility of her mother finding out.

"No, I would not have you wait", Mercury began", but I would like to offer you something that you both need: Alibis. In your current arrangement, people will begin to notice that you are both absent, and from there they will start rumours, but if either of you have alibis for most of the time, then people will not see the connection. I suggest that we use at least one of the two times a week, where Arya usually plays chess at my tent, she would sneak out the back and leave an image of her behind, so that if anyone walks in they won't immediately see that something is wrong. I furthermore propose that Eragon tells Nasuada that he, Orik and I are working on something secret in his private forge, but instead of it being Eragon, Orik and I, it will just be Orik and I. I know that I can convince Orik to go along with the deception without letting him know".

"You would do that for us, and are you sure you can convince Orik to go along with this?", Eragon asked in a grateful voice.

"Of course I would, and I can", Mercury said, as he smiled at the relieved faces of the couple, "by the way, I feel like I should congratulate you two".

**Time skip(a week later)**  
Mercury was walking towards his usual training with Eragon, but unlike so many times before, this time he finally had a proper sword to call his own. He had commissioned the sword in Orik's personal forge, only a short while after they left Feinster, but it had not been finished until yesterday.

Mercury had never been entirely comfortable with the sword the Varden had given him, it simply did not fit his way of fighting and he believed its qualities did not suit him. Luckily for Mercury, one of the books he had decided to bring with him had provided the answer to his problem.

Mercury had not made the sheath of the sword, so that it would fit on his belt, he had instead opted to strap it on his back with the hilt of the sword accessible at his left shoulder, so that it would not get in the way of any leg movement, but that he could still grab it at any time.

He had already noticed that several of the Varden soldiers had stopped what they were doing, and started studying him as he walked towards his training with Eragon, but whether it was the sword itself, the position of his sheath or a mixture of both that captivated him, he did not know. He did now however that it was not the sheath itself that captivated them, because the sheath was a simple wooden sheath covered with a thin layer of black leather.

Upon reaching Eragon, Mercury noticed that Arya had chosen to observe today's training from a log nearby. Eragon sent him a quizzical look as he eyed his missing sword at the hip and the hilt of his new sword, which was the only part of his sword that could be seen from the front.

"I see you have changed your sword", Eragon stated in voice that clearly requested answers to this mystery.

"I have", Mercury said as he smirked, "I did not entirely like the old one, so I commissioned this shortly after we left Feinster".

"Really, then why have you not used it before now if you commissioned it so long ago, and where exactly did you commission it, because I don't believe Nasuada knows about it, and she would definitely know if you used a blacksmith at the Varden", Eragon asked with curiosity in his voice.

"Well to answer your endless questions", Mercury said with a grin directed towards Arya, "I did not use it before, because it was only finished yesterday, and I commissioned it at Orik's personal forge".

"Enough chatter, let us see the sword and judge whether it suits you better than your original", Arya said from her position at the log.

Arya's comment silenced both, and Mercury quickly drew his new sword. The sword hilt was long and clearly intended for two-handed wielding, with pieces of a black cloth woven around the hilt to increase the grip, and it had a small circular guard instead of the usual crossguard. It had a slender slightly curved single edged blade with a length of around 73 cm, but neither the blade, guard or hilt had any intricate patterns or markings, which was usual in important blades, it was just a smooth steel surface without any obstructions.

"What kind of sword is that?", Eragon asked as he studied the new sword with clear wonder in his eyes.

"In my old world it would be called a katana", Mercury answered as slightly turned the sword to let his viewers study it more closely.

"Are you sure that is even going to hold? If it had been elf-made, it would have been reinforced with magic because of its slender build", Arya said as she eyed the slender blade.

"It was considered one of the best kinds of swords in my old world, and I am quite confident that it will hold. It did not take so long to forge for its appearances sake", Mercury said as he gripped the katana with both of his hands and took a few practice swings.

"It is your sword, but let me just block the edge, so that we don't cut each other to pieces", Eragon said while blocking the edges of his own sword.

After blocking the edge of Mercury's sword and handing it back to him, they both took their fighting stances and waited to start the fight. Mercury was the first to strike, aiming at Eragon's right shoulder, but Eragon easily parried the strike and followed it with a strike of his own towards Mercury's right thigh, which Mercury parried by bringing his blade down just beside his right shoulder. Eragon had been surprised by his ability to block his strike, because with his old sword Mercury had not been able parry such a strike, but because of his new sword's extra length and lack of weight, he was now able move his sword much faster and cover more areas of his body with the same movement.

Mercury used Eragon's surprise and swiftly followed his block with a single motion sweep towards Eragon's right abdomen, but Eragon just jumped right out of range of his strike.

The fight continued like that for around two hours before Arya finally broke them up. In none of their previous fights had they continued for that long or fought with such determination. Mercury had fought with his determination to fully test his new sword and how it could change his way of fighting, and Eragon had fought to determine Mercury's true level of fighting, but the fight was still clearly won by Eragon.

"Well fought, you almost had me at your second strike and the time you twisted your blade in that special way", Eragon said as he reached for the water skin.

"But I still could not land a single strike on you, despite all of my best efforts, and taking advantage of your surprises with my new weapon's capabilities", Mercury said slightly annoyed. He had never expected to win the fight, but he had hoped that he at least would be able to use some confusion on Eragon's part to land a strike or two.

"You should not feel bad about that, I have the speed and strength of an elf after all. Brom once told me that even though I was a rider, I should still run if I were to ever face an elf in combat, because even the weakest elf could easily defeat any human", Eragon said to comfort his friend, "but I do agree that this sword suits you far better than the old one".

"What will you name it?", Arya asked from the log.

"What do you mean by, what I will name it?", Mercury asked confused.

Eragon interjected by saying, "I called my sword Brisingr", and upon saying his sword's name it burst into blue flames, which were quickly extinguished by a slightly cursing Eragon, "I forgot, I can't say my sword's name out loud, unless it bursts into flames".

Mercury, who had never seen Eragon's sword burst into flames, had immediately jumped back in surprise and raised his own sword, as if to defend against an incoming attack. After seeing that there was no danger, he again walked up next to Eragon and asked, "do I need to name my sword like you have, and will something equivalent happen to it, when I say its name out loud?"

"First of all, my sword is special", Eragon started, "the elf smith Rhunön used my body to forge my sword, and as such some of my personality might have seeped into the sword during the spell weaving. We believe that Bris-, the name of my sword, might be the True name for my sword, but none other than me can light it".

"And second of all", Arya continued, "the naming of a sword is crucial if the person wielding the sword ever gets famous or currently is. The reason for this is that when bards tell tales, they don't just tell the tale of the hero, but his sword as well, and therefore you can either choose to name it now or let some bards name it later, and seeing as your current sword is quite special in its design, I would suggest you name it as soon as possible, because a weapon like that do not go unnoticed".

"I never thought about that", Mercury said as he rummaged his mind for fitting names for a sword, but he could only find a single name, which seemed to fit both his sword and his intentions for its use.

"In that case, I name this sword: Stille Död", Mercury said as he raised his sword, so that it stood straight up into the air, "but I will not scorn the blade, by writing a name on it".

"What does that even mean?", Eragon asked confused, "is it something in the dwarven language?"

"Wouldn't you like to know", Mercury said while smirking, as he sheathed Stille Död, "but no, it is not something in the dwarven language. Could we just continue with the training instead of these distractions?"

Eragon grudgingly agreed and sat down opposite to Mercury, and to both their surprises, Arya chose to sit down with them. Mercury thought he had made a lot of progress since last week, he had learned to follow trails to other animals' minds, and had learned to impart pictures and emotions, but he still had trouble reaching out to the small insects, which he knew crawled around just beneath and around him. This fact frustrated him greatly, as he wanted to be able to touch each and every mind of the creatures around him, so that he might both learn about them and use them as a sort of early warning system.

Some of his frustration must have seeped out, because Eragon projected a thought to him, which sounded almost like he was mentally chuckling, _again you expect too much of yourself. It is far from all magicians that can touch the small minds of insects even after years of training, and yet you want to do it after only a couple of weeks of trying and without any prior magical powers_.

_There is nothing wrong with expecting more than your own best from yourself_, Mercury thought back_, it makes me want to improve myself even more_.

_But you must remember to know your own limits, because if you try to exceed them in battle, then you will almost certainly fail_, came Arya's musical thoughts.

_I do know my limits, but that does not mean that I can't try and improve myself, when I am not in a battle_, Mercury answered.

The mental exercises continued for half an hour without anything disturbing them, but suddenly Mercury heard a small snap of a twig behind him. He had not sensed anyone around him, and neither Eragon nor Arya had alerted him of someone, so he guessed that they did not know of their presence either, but before he could open his eyes, and look who it was, he was knocked on the head with a blunt weapon. The last thoughts that raced through Mercury's head as he fell unconscious were: _I failed! Because of me the empire will have Eragon and Arya. I failed them!_

* * *

I bet you are guessing what the sword name means, so I have decided to start a contest of sorts. The first person who guesses the English name for the sword gets credited in the chapter immediately after they guessed it.

Another thing I believe I might need to clarify: Mercury does not extend his mind, like Eragon does in the clearing in book two, as he is very far from that level. What he does is to follow the trail of a single mind back to it' source, kind of like a hunter stalking a prey, but it has some clear disadvantages. The strongest being that you could compare this type of extending your mind to only being able to focus on one thing with your eyes. You might see the thing clearly, but you are oblivious to everything around it.


	11. Drugged, imprisoned and no way out

Ding Ding Ding, and we have a winner: Cretha Loesing, although his initial guess of becoming silence was wrong, his second guess of Silent Death is correct, so let us congratulate him on finding the right language to translate it from, and apparently he went through a lot.

* * *

**Drugged, imprisoned and no way out**

**Eragon POV  
**Eragon could feel his wrists and ankles hurting, but he did not immediately know why. Suddenly he remembered what had transpired in the woods during the mental training with Mercury: they had been captured by unknown assailants, who knew how to hide their minds, just like the assassin dwarves of Az Sweldn rak Anhûin.

Upon realizing this, Eragon's eyes sprung open, and he took in his new situation: he was in a dark room with no windows and only a single heavy iron door, his hands and feet had been shackled to a wall, leaving him suspended in mid air, his weapons had been removed and he guessed that he had been drugged, as he could not reach out for his magic. To his left he could see Arya in a similar situation, and from the look in her eyes, he knew that she had no way out either. To his right Mercury was lying on the ground, he had only been shackled by his feet, as the upper part of the shackles had been damaged, but Eragon could not see whether Mercury was still conscious or even alive.

"Arya, are you alright?", Eragon asked in a concerned voice, as he looked at her bloody ankles and wrist.

"Despite being taken captive, drugged, chained to a wall with no way of escape and having failed in protecting Alagaësia's only hope of defeating Galbatorix, then yes I am alright", Arya said with a bit of anger seeping into her voice.

"Sorry, but I needed to be sure", Eragon said in an apologetic voice, "has Mercury woken up or done anything so far?"

Eragon could see Arya's face softening before replying, "No not yet, but they would not have chained him if he was dead".

Before Eragon could reply, the door swung open and revealed a man dressed in dark purple robes, his face was covered by a cloth and in his right hand was a sword.

"Arhh, I see most of the prisoners have awakened", the man said in a voice, which sounded like it was bordering on laughing, "as I am sure you have noticed, you have been drugged and your weapons have been removed, so don't even try to escape".

Eragon looked furiously at the man, who was now strolling towards them, before replying, "who are you and why have you brought us here?"

"Oh, such fury won't get you anywhere, the GREAT Eragon Shadeslayer. Once the Black Hand delivers you to King Galbatorix, you won't be such a pestilence anymore", the man said in a gleeful voice, which only served to infuriate Eragon even further.

Arya intercepted Eragon' rude reply by asking the man in a slightly humble and defeated voice, which made Eragon wonder why she was giving up already, "could you at least tell us how you managed to capture two of the most protected people in the Varden, for that must have been a great challenge indeed".

"Oh, the mighty Arya Shadeslayer wishes to know how we defeated her. Since you are not going anywhere, I might as well tell you", the man said with pride mixing into his gleeful voice, "It was actually quite simple, our many spies in the Varden registered all your movements, and found the moment you both would be most vulnerable. After that it was only a matter of using some of our operatives in the Varden to ensure your capture and bring you to this place. I have to ask though, why do you waste your time on that lowly human, aside from his impressive mental defences and his knowledge from his world, he is just a human like any other".

"How do you know about that?", Arya asked slightly surprised.

"SILENCE, wench", the man shouted as he slapped Arya hard in the face, before he laughed as he said, "Oh, I see he never told you about his mental attacks in Feinster".

Before Eragon could reply, he was sucker punched in the gut by the still laughing man, before he turned around and was just about to walk to the door, but then he stopped, turned around to the still unconscious Mercury and kicked him in the ribs. The kick did not seem to have any noticeable effects on Mercury, so the man simply shrugged and walked out of the door, before he closed it.

Shortly after the man had closed the heavy iron door, Eragon could hear a low groan, but it did not come from either him or Arya. Confused he looked towards Mercury, who to Eragon's surprise was beginning to get up, while massaging his ribs, where the man had kicked him. Before Eragon could ask Mercury whether he was alright, he noticed that Mercury was in the middle of removing his belt.

Confused he looked towards Arya, who looked just as confused as him, but before Eragon could ask Arya about anything, his enhanced hearing noticed the ripping sound of cloth being ripped open. The ripping sound had come from Mercury, who had ripped his belt open, and to Eragon's and Arya's surprise it contained several small pouches, a tinderbox and two small daggers.

Mercury opened one of the pouches, took out a few grains what appeared to be salt and placed them on his shackles. He then opened another pouch, which contained several small wires, took one of them and laid it with one end facing the grains of salt.

_Of course_, Eragon thought to himself with renewed hope, _he hid some of the explosive salt along with a few daggers in his belt. A hidden weapon cache just like Beloth the Wise's belt_.

Mercury quickly lit the wire, which Eragon now guessed to be the fuses, and soon after a small explosion tore, straight through his shackles. Eragon guessed that the guards must have heard the explosion, and he estimated that it would not be long before they arrived.

"Quickly use it on Arya's shackles and then mine before the guards get here", Eragon said to Mercury, who had been mute so far, but to his surprise Mercury simply put his index finger on his lips in a way that showed Eragon, that Mercury wanted him to be silent.

Immediately after seeing that Eragon complied, Mercury grabbed another unopened pouch, despite having only removed a few grains of the first pouch, a single fuse and the tinderbox, and ran towards the door. Mercury stuck the end of the fuse into the pouch and started to wait at the door. Not 10 seconds later Eragon could hear the trample of armoured boots, and soon after the sliding of the metal bar locking the door.

Mercury clearly heard the sliding too, because immediately after it began, he lit the fuse and the moment the door started to open inwards, he threw the lit pouch through, and quickly slammed the door and tried to hold it shut with all his strength.

Eragon guessed that Mercury might only be able to hold the door for another few seconds, before the guards forced it open. Suddenly an extremely loud bang could be heard, followed swiftly by a shockwave, which forced Eragon to close his eyes.

When he opened them again, he marvelled at the sight: the heavy iron door had been torn off most of its hinges; the only one remaining was the lowest, which had been bent so that the door was crooked inwards. The part of the floor, which Eragon could see in the other room, was tainted black by sod, but from this position he could see no trace of the guards. Eragon let his eyes wander across their cell, as he noticed Mercury lying on the ground near opposite wall from the door.

Worry manifested itself in Eragon's heart, worry for his friend, who might be dead or injured from the explosion, he caused to save Eragon and Arya, but to his relief the body of Mercury started moving.

"YOU ARE ALIVE!", Eragon shouted, as Mercury started moving towards Eragon with two fuses and the first pouch, which he had opened. Eragon could hear Mercury silently cursing and scolding himself for using that large an amount of the explosive salt, while Mercury placed a few grains on his upper and lower shackles and lighted them.

After freeing Eragon, Mercury spoke to him in a clear and commanding voice, "alright, now you free Arya while I will go and make an escape route...oh, and take this dagger as well", Mercury then pushed one of the daggers into Eragon's empty hands, snatched the remaining pouches from the floor and ran towards the doorway.

As he reached the doorway, Mercury turned and looked Eragon directly in the eyes with a strange look in them, while saying, "don't wait for me, run hard and fast for as long as you can...and please, if you can, bring my sword back to the Varden".

Eragon suddenly realized where he had seen that look before, he had seen it in soldiers going into battle, which they knew there was only a slim chance of coming out of alive, but before he could protest, Mercury turned around and ran out of the doorway.

Eragon started on freeing Arya, but just as her leg shackles had been blown off, an explosion shook the walls and the floor. Eragon estimated that the explosion had to be many times greater than the one Mercury had used to clear the guardroom, which could only mean that Mercury had used all of his remaining explosive salt.

Eragon looked towards Arya as he said in a voice that unfortunately showed that he did not believe his words, "I am sure he was clear of the explosion, before it went off".

Arya, who seemed to think the same thing as him, nodded and replied in an emotionless voice, which only worked to worry Eragon further, "yes, he would surely have survived".

After that Eragon and Arya quickly exited the room, found the armoury, retrieved their swords along with Mercury's and started to ascend the stairs to the surface. They had met no resistance along the way, which had only served to bewilder them even further. Surely all in the castle would have noticed the escape, which had not exactly been very subtle, but no one had entered the dungeons.

As they reached the surface they discovered why no one had gone down into the dungeons: the explosion had caused an entire side of the castle to collapse, which had left the way out for Eragon and Arya wide open. Servants and soldiers alike were running to and from buildings, trying to save items of value, extinguish some fires and use timber beams, desks, tables and other furniture to reinforce the crumbling castle.

Arya's voice tore Eragon's gaze away from the bloody scene before them, "come Eragon, we need to go now".

Eragon looked towards her, nodded and started running through the debris with Arya right behind him. Almost no soldiers or servants seemed to notice them, but three quarters way through one of the soldiers shouted, "the prisoners are escaping! Catch them!"

There was no way the slow soldiers could match the speed of an elf, so Eragon and Arya managed to flee the castle without having to stop and fight a single soldier. As soon as they were out, they noticed Leona-lake on their left side and the Spine's distant mountains on their right, and upon realizing that the quickest way back to the Varden, would be to follow their current direction, they silently agreed to keep running.

They kept running in complete silence for several hours, and did not stop until the sun started to set. For Eragon' part the silence was comfortable, although he would usually not pass up a chance to talk to Arya, the silence kept him from thinking about anything but the monotone task of running.

They had stopped in a small clearing in a nearby forest, the trees would protect them from unwanted attention, but the clearing was not big enough to build a campfire without accidentally setting fire to the trees. Eragon had gone out to gather food, while Arya had stayed behind to prepare the clearing for nightfall. Eragon soon came back with an assortment of fruits, nuts and plants, but as he stumbled into the clearing, the sight of it surprised him: Arya was sitting next to a small bed made out of pine branches, and atop of the bed more pine branches formed a primitive sort of roof. The bed was clearly large enough for two people to sleep on, but Eragon was still shocked at the possibility of him sleeping next to Arya.

Their relationship had improved over the last few weeks, but they had only walked and talked together, though they had occasionally held hands while doing so, but this was something completely different from that.

Upon seeing his shocked expression Arya let out a small laugh, while saying in a soft yet firm voice, "Eragon, we are nearing winter and the cold is setting in. I made the bed and roof to insulate us, so as to preserve body heat, as the clearing is too small for a fire".

"I see", Eragon said and let out a relieved sigh, before he gathered himself and walked over to sit next to her, while dropping his findings on the ground.

"We should contact Nasuada about our whereabouts and to receive the Varden's location", Arya said after they had ate, "is your magic back yet?"

"No, I still can't reach it", Eragon said in a slightly irritated tone.

"Then we will use mine, they don't appear to have given me as much of the drugs as you. They probably thought you were the most dangerous opponent and therefore underestimated me", Arya said in a firm voice.

"You were not the only one they underestimated, who would have thought that the least powerful of us all would be the most dangerous for them", Eragon chuckled with a voice, that was half full of mirth and half full of sadness.

"Last mistake they ever made", Arya said in a similar voice, before she dug a hole in the ground, summoned water to it and applied the scrying spell with the extra lines necessary for two-way communication. They were met by the red canvas of Nasuada's command tent, the tent appeared empty, but Eragon could hear muffled voices from the sides, so he guessed that it was not completely empty.

Eragon coughed to get the attention of whoever was inside the tent, and not soon after Nasuada, Jörmundur and Roran emerged in front of the mirror. Roran's expression was one of pure joy, Nasuada's primary reaction to their appearance in the mirror was relief and Jörmundur showed a toothed grin.

The group looked at Eragon and Arya for a while, as if to assure themselves that they were real, before Roran burst out, "Thank the gods, you are not dead or captured".

Nasuada interrupted him by saying in a controlled and firm voice, "I expect a full explanation for your disappearances and I want to know how soon you can join up with the Varden".

Eragon and Arya looked at each other for a second before Arya nodded, understanding that Eragon did not wish to recount the very probable suicide of Mercury. Arya then started to retell their story of how they had been captured by Black Hand members inside the Varden, who had the ability to hide their minds, their imprisonment in the castle dungeons and their subsequent escape.

"I see", Nasuada said as she looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing, "and you are sure that Mercury died in the explosion, which destroyed a side of the castle?"

"We did not find his body", Arya began, "but there is only a very slim chance of him making it out alive. Besides I don't think he thought, he would get back as well".

"And why do you say that?", Jörmundur replied confused.

"He asked us to not wait for him and to take his sword with us back to the Varden", Arya said in her emotionless voice.

"I understand", Nasuada said as she looked down for a moment before continuing, "the Varden are currently laying siege to Belatona. We have not breached the walls yet, and so far we have managed to suppress all rumours of your disappearances, how soon can you join us?".

"If we are, where I think we are, then we should be able to join you tomorrow unless we meet any unforeseen obstacles", Arya said while she silently counted on her fingers, before continuing, "I suggest that you don't initiate any more assaults before we join up with the Varden, as many lives could be spared by waiting a single day for the full might of a dragon and her rider".

"I concur", Nasuada agreed, "should I send out Saphira to look for you?"

"No", Arya said swiftly, "Saphira would attract too much attention even at night, and she could not leave in the day for fear of someone spotting her and leaving the Varden undefended".

Nasuada looked thoughtful for a moment before she replied, "we shall wait until you join us then. I wish you a safe trip and try to avoid as many obstacles as possible, am I making myself clear Eragon?"

Eragon felt slightly insulted that Nasuada assumed he would be the cause of any unforeseen trouble, but as he remembered his trip to Helgrind along with several other such situations, he chuckled as he replied, "I will try my best, but trouble seems to be attracted to me whenever Saphira is not around".

Arya cut the connection soon after that, and Eragon discovered that he had begun to shiver from the cold of the autumn night. Arya seemed to have noticed this as well because she chuckled as she said, "see, I told you it would be cold without a fire to keep us warm. Now let us go inside and rest in the warmth of the shelter".

Eragon complied and soon the two shadeslayers were lying in a bed of pines. The shelter was not big enough for two people to both lie on their backs, so at least one person had to be snuggled up close to the other. Eragon's mind raced through possibilities as to why Arya would construct it this way, but he thought it better not to broach the subject, so instead he asked, "Arya, why did you not offer Nasuada to have us run through the night, and then meet the Varden early in the morning?"

Arya shifted a little against Eragon's side before replying, "I knew that we would have to start the assault as soon as we arrived, and therefore we need to be as well rested as possible. We would not do much good to the Varden, if we are half dead from exhaustion, even before the battle".

Eragon found her answer logical enough, but something in his mind told him it was not the whole truth, but he dared not press Arya further, so he simply went to sleep, content with his small bit of happiness at being this close to Arya, even though it only was for preservation of body heat.

* * *

In order to clear up any misunderstandings, if Eragon had asked Arya why she had made the shelter so small, she would have said that it was in order to preserve body heat, as the smaller the shelter the less heat is expended on warming it. If I had made the shelter I would have made it, so that the people needed to spoon each other if the night temperature demanded it, but I figured Arya might try to avoid such a scenario.

Oh, and something I realized as I was writing this: I can stop my story now, and just say Inheritance takes on from here, as I have not changed too much...but I won't. I will however inform you that the battle for Belatona will go according to the book's version, as the same parameters are in place, and my next chapter will be set after the battle.


	12. Messenger birds

Sorry about updating this chapter too early, but I am going on a trip the weekend and will not have access to any forms of electronics.

* * *

**Messenger birds**

**Eragon POV  
**Eragon was walking around Belatona with four of his elven guards, it was the fifth day since capturing the Varden and brokering the treaty with the werecats, and there had still been no sign of Mercury. Since Nasuada and the other leaders had kept Eragon and Arya's disappearance a secret, no one in the Varden knew what had transpired in the dungeons of the Black Hand castle, and therefore they only knew that Mercury had suddenly vanished without a trace.

The only people who had seemed to care about his disappearance had been the dwarves, and of course the few people who knew that he had probably committed suicide in order to get Eragon and Arya out. Eragon had been hopeful the first few days after returning to the Varden, but as the days wore on, he started to lose hope in ever seeing Mercury again.

_Is this what my life is going to be like?_, Eragon thought to himself, _all the people who have ever cared for me have died to either protect me or because I was not strong enough to face my enemies_.

_Not all, little one_, Saphira's gentle voice said, _Arya, Roran, Nasuada and Orik care for you and are still very much alive_.

_Aye, but for how long?_, Eragon questioned his dragon, _Roran is constantly going out on patrols, Orik is the king of the dwarves, which makes him a prime assassination target, Nasuada is perhaps in even more danger of assassination and Arya...Arya would give her life without a second thought to protect us_.

_This is war, Eragon, people die, but why should that discourage you from seeking friendships and company_, Saphira said to soothe Eragon, _if anything this should make you want to treasure your friendships even more_.

_Thank you Saphira_, Eragon thought back, while sending feelings of gratitude and love across their link, _I think I might go and see what Arya is doing_.

Eragon then informed his guards of their new destination and started to walk towards it, while still mentally conversing with Saphira.

Eragon could feel amusement of his choice seeping across the link, while Saphira said, _going to see your elf mate_?

Eragon's ears reddened and his cheeks blushed as he said, _she is not my...we are not mates, Saphira_.

_Oh, but you spend a lot of time together without anyone knowing it, and from your memories, I saw that you slept together on the way back to the Varden...and does mates not sleep together?_, Saphira said with the mental equivalent of a chuckle.

_We don't tell the Varden about our walks, because they would think the same thing as you are doing, and if Islanzadi found out, she would be furious_, Eragon defended himself, _and about that...incident...on the way back to the Varden. It was just to preserve body heat, as we had no room for a fire and no sleeping equipment with us at the time_.

Eragon knew that Saphira did not believe his answer, and frankly he had a hard time believing it himself. Arya had never been fond of any physical contact, but that night she had willingly made a bed which required her to snuggle close to Eragon. Despite the mattress being made of pine branches and the pillow being nonexistent, he had slept far better that night, than any night in the very comfortable beds in Ellesméra.

Arya and Eragon had never discussed what had happened, partly because Eragon was afraid of pushing her away if he mentioned it, and partly because they never had had a chance to be alone without prying ears. It had always been Mercury, who had provided the means for their small talks being kept private, but now there would be no one to provide them with alibis, and who would willingly take the blame if they were late for an urgent meeting, because they had taken a walk.

Eragon was interrupted in his thoughts as a hawk descended upon him and landed on his left shoulder. He immediately gave a yelp of surprise by the sudden appearance of a hawk. After recovering from his initial shock, Eragon wiggled his shoulder to try and signal to the hawk that he was not a good choice for a landing pad, but the hawk's only reaction were to dig its claws deeper into his shoulder.

Upon seeing the hawk dig its claws deeper into Eragon's shoulder, his elven guards tried to shoo it off without hurting it, but the hawk seemed to be intent on staying on Eragon's shoulder. By then Eragon had actually come to admire the hawk's courage, and when Blödhgarn came forward to try and pry it off his shoulder, Eragon responded by saying, "No, I do not believe this hawk means to harm me, so I will let it sit there for as long as it would like".

Blödhgarn responded with a, "as you wish, Shadeslayer", before he retreated to his original position, and the group began moving towards Arya's quarters again.

As the group neared Arya's quarters they found her sitting outside in the gardens, where she was sniffing a lily with a small smile on her lips.

"You may leave us", Eragon said, as he dismissed his elven guards, who simply nodded and silently disappeared into the city.

Arya looked up from the flower and towards Eragon, where she noticed the hawk sitting on his left shoulder, and shot him an arched eyebrow. Eragon chuckled lightly at her response before saying, "it landed on my shoulder on my way here, and it did not seem intent to leave".

Arya's lips curved upward in a small smile before she looked directly into the hawk's eyes. Eragon noted, that the hawk did not seem to mind the scrutiny, in fact it merely stared right back at her. They kept like that for a few seconds before Arya furrowed her eyebrows and said, "this hawk was instructed to find you and deliver a message to you".

Eragon pondered what the message might be and who might have sent the hawk, while he reached out with his mind to touch the mind of the hawk. He found the hawk's thoughts to be about finding him and delivering a message, but as the hawk had no message visibly attached to it, Eragon searched through its memories to find where the message might have gone.

As he searched through the memories, most of which were of the hawk hunting mice, rabbits and smaller birds, he noticed a memory, which seemed to stick out from the rest. The memory did not feel like the hawk's other memories, it felt more...human. Eragon quickly recognized that this might be the message the hawk was intended to deliver, and started to watch it. The memory took place from the perspective of an unknown person.

**Start of memory**  
He was walking down a corridor lit by torches and made of stone. As he gazed down he looked at the halberd he was carrying in his right hand, and at the black armour he wore. Directly behind him a voice could be heard, "move it Gaynor, or we will be whipped for being late at our shift. The Black Hand does not show mercy on its guards if they are lazy".

Gaynor increased his pace and soon they reached a door at the end of the tunnel. The door was solidly built of steel, and not a voice could be heard from inside, despite the shadows under the door showing several people. Gaynor knocked two times and then five with his halberd, before the door swung open. The room inside was well lit and in the middle was a table covered with documents, maps and several tankards, pitchers and plates.

Gaynor went to replace a guard at one of the pillars at the corner of the room, while the three guards behind him did the same with the other guards. All the people around the table had stopped talking the second the door had opened, and they did not start talking again until the four replaced guards had left the room and closed the door.

"Now, what were you saying about the assassination on Nasuada, Lehtry?", one of the people at the table said.

"I said that the reason behind our failure at assassinating Nasuada, have been found", Lehtry spoke, "it is a small witch girl called Elva, who can sense the pain of those around her and what pain will come to them in the near future, that has been the reason for our lack of success".

"How did you come by this information?", a third person asked.

"My highly placed spies in the Varden managed to deliver this information to me", Lehtry answered.

"I suggest we use this to our advantage", the first person spoke again, "they will have come to depend on the witch child's ability, so if we construct an assassination attempt, which kills Nasuada without causing her any immediate harm, then the witch child will not be able to prevent it".

The meeting continued on for another few hours, in which the attendants had decided how to attack Nasuada and that it would occur in the evening at one day from now.

The image then shifted to a forest, the sun was setting in the distance, while Gaynor appeared to be searching for something. Finally his eyes fell on a hawk, and by a voiceless command it descended upon his outstretched right arm. Gaynor looked the hawk directly in the eyes for a while, before the hawk ascended from his arm and flew south.  
**End of memory**

Eragon retreated from the hawk's mind, and noticed that it was close to evening. Eragon realized with a jolt that the assassination would be occurring any minute now, and immediately started sprinting towards Nasuada's command room, where she would most likely be, the hawk had taken off from his shoulder, but it was still following him from the air. He only faintly noticed Arya racing to catch up with him, and as she reached him, she said, "Eragon what is the matter?"

Still running, Eragon said, "Nasuada is about to be assassinated, and there is nothing Elva can do to protect her". This seemed to quench Arya's wish to question him, but a moment later she said, "the nighthawks have been informed".

Eragon reached Nasuada's command room, which was guarded by four nighthawks, who immediately let them through. Inside an additional 6 nighthawks had taken up positions around Nasuada, who seemed to be relieved to see Eragon and Arya.

"Good you are here. Now tell me why you believe someone intends to have me murdered, and why Elva has not detected anything", Nasuada said in a controlled voice, which showed no fear, but only a slight irritation of something ruining an important meeting.

Eragon walked towards Nasuada's chair, bent down and examined the surface of the wood. As he did so, his eyes fell upon a very small and very thin needle sticking out of the armrest. Eragon immediately drew Brisingr and cut the armrest off, before he turned towards the others and said, "there was a hidden needle in the armrest. It contains a poison, which would not affect you for several hours, and when it finally begins to affect you, it will slowly start to lower your heart rate until your heart simply stops. The Black Hand intended for you to be asleep, when the poison began to take effect, and since it would not cause you any harm, Elva would not have been able to detect it".

Everyone in the room looked shocked at the new information; Arya was the first to recover, "when did you receive this chair?"

Nasuada seemed to shake herself out of her reverie, as she answered, "just this evening. The other chair had broken a leg, and the carpenter in the castle was quick to procure a new one".

"He must be in allegiance with the Black Hand. Jörmundur take three of the nighthawks and apprehend this man", Arya commanded, before turning her gaze towards Eragon, while saying, "what did the hawk show you exactly?"

Just at that moment the hawk flew through the window and landed on Eragon's left shoulder again. Most people in the room gave out a surprised yelp, but Eragon simply brushed the feathers of the hawk while saying, "**noble hawk, you have delivered your message. May your prey never see you come and the wind keep you in the skies**", and with that the hawk took off again and flew out of the window.

Eragon turned his attention back towards the assembled, as he began to recount the memory the hawk had delivered to him. Everyone was quiet for a little while after he finished, until Nasuada spoke, "I do not know who this Gaynor is, the Varden certainly has no spies with that alias or who have infiltrated the Black Hand at such a level".

"Perhaps it is a new ally then", Arya said in an emotionless voice, which showed none of her thoughts.

"Perhaps...", Nasuada said with hesitation, "but we can't trust him just yet. He may have warned us as a way to establish trust on our part".

"Aye, for now we will wait and see what will come", Eragon said, and with that they ended their small meeting, and let Nasuada continue her own as planned.

**Time skip(a week and a half later)**  
The Varden had been marching towards Belatona for about a week, Eragon had begun training with Arya in swordplay. Arya continuously beat him with ease, a fact which Eragon was not happy with. Eragon and Arya had still not been able to spend much time alone, so the sparring matches had become their new talks. Whenever they sparred, it seemed to Eragon like they were not only sparring, but communicating to each other. The communication was simple and yet intimate, in that it did not involve any words, but merely their emotions and feelings. Eragon could often see how different parts of Arya's day had been, in these matches, and he guessed she could see his too.

Ordinary people would not have a chance to see this, and Eragon believed that even the elves would have trouble deciphering the secret meanings, if they did not know the two Shadeslayers very well. Blödhgarn had seemed like he knew something was going on, but he never said anything to either Eragon or Arya, and from the lack of response from Islanzadi, Eragon guessed that he kept it secret from her as well, a decision Eragon was very glad for.

Eragon was currently in the middle of another sparring match against Arya, when a dove descended upon him and landed on his left shoulder. Eragon and Arya immediately stopped their sparring match, and looked towards the dove. Gaynor had not contacted the Varden again since the first time, but Eragon guessed that it was him, because who else would have a bird descend upon his left shoulder, and none other than himself, Arya, Nasuada, Jörmundur and the few nighthawks, which had been present at the time, knew about Gaynor or the assassination attempt.

Eragon tentatively reached out towards the dove's mind, and again found the command to seek out Eragon in its thoughts. As he reached deeper into the dove's memories, he found the one he was looking for.

**Start of memory  
**It was the same room in which Nasuada's assassination had been planned. Gaynor was quickly shifting through the documents on the desk, and as he glanced over his shoulder, he noted the three other guards with deathly wounds across them, proof of his betrayal.

He returned his attention back towards the documents, when suddenly an alarm bell began to ring. Gaynor began to feverously search through the documents, until he came across a large one, which had the title: Black Hand operatives in the Varden and their functions. Gaynor only had time to read the title, as the door burst open. Gaynor immediately tucked the document under his armour and turned around to see two guards walk through the door, just in time for a couple of the dead guards' halberds to descend upon them and kill them.

With his safety trap sprung, Gaynor hurried out of the door, before the image shifted again. Gaynor was now running along a shore line, which resembled Leona-lake. He had discarded his heavy black armour in favour of something lighter and less noisy, but he was still panting for breath from running for so long.

He looked around him before he sat down at the shore and made as if to drink from it. When he looked into the water he could see his own reflection: his grey eyes, the visible but not prominent cheekbones, his skin, which had turned to a slight tan, and his short grey hair. Instead of quenching his thirst he poured some of the water onto the shoreline and started to draw a crude map of Leona-lake, the Spine and the cities of Belatona and Dras-Leona.

For the first time in the memories, he spoke, "I hope that this finds you Eragon. I don't have much time before I have to move again, so I will make this short".

He seemed to gather himself for a moment before he continued, "I am approximately here", he said as he pointed a finger at a point in the north western part of Leona-lake, "I will move towards the Spine like this, and then wait there for two days. If I have not seen you or Saphira by then, I will assume my message was lost, or that you have otherwise been hindered, and I will start moving south through the Spine and eventually reach Belatona, where I hope I will be able to burrow a horse and supplies, before I continue up towards Dras-Leona and regroup with the main army", as he said his route, his finger glided across the sand and followed it.

He then started to get up, and wiped the drawing away with his boot, before he looked one last time towards Leona-lake, and then started heading west towards the Spine, where he called for the first bird he noticed.  
**End of memory**

Eragon stared at Arya for a moment, before he said, "He is alive...Mercury is alive, Mercury is Gaynor"

Arya stared confused back at him, as the words sank in, but Eragon did not give her time to respond, "I,no we, Saphira and I have to go and pick him up right now".

Arya seemed to come back to her senses, as she said, "you know where he is? What has happened since he is suddenly in such a hurry to be picked up?"

"I will explain it, when I explain to Nasuada why I must leave", Eragon said as he turned to run towards Nasuada's command pavilion, but Arya's hand caught his arm, and as he looked back, she was looking directly into his eyes, while she said ,"no Eragon, you must explain to Nasuada, why we are leaving".

Eragon nodded, and she released his arm, before they both ran towards Nasuada, who especially after hearing about the document with all the Black Hand operatives in the Varden, agreed to let them go.


	13. Back with the Varden

It has just come to my attention that perhaps you should be informed that although I do not always reveal how or why something happens and functions in the chapter, which they first emerge, I do have an explanation for everything. I will not always write that explanation into the story, as it sometimes does not fit in, but I do have it and is willing to share if you ask me for it...unless I plan on it being a part of a later chapter, then I will simply tell you to wait and see.

* * *

**Back with the Varden**

**Mercury POV  
**Mercury had returned to the Varden yesterday, the pickup by Eragon, Arya and Saphira had been rather uneventful. Nasuada had been very thrilled to get hold of the document, which showed every Black Hand operative in the Varden and their function, and had immediately after started to root them out in a single massive sweep, to ensure that no one managed to flee.

The Varden leaders had praised Mercury's actions and had tried to make him perform a speech in front of the Varden, but Mercury had declined and said that he would rather have the Varden not knowing about his involvement, because as he stated: "they would never have underestimated Eragon or Arya, as they did me, because of the fame they have in the Varden, and I want to retain as much underestimation on their part as I can possibly get". Mercury had secretly added to himself, _besides, I hate the attention and the small favours that always come with fame_.

Mercury had since then told Eragon, that as of now they would no longer train every day, as they used to, because Eragon should concentrate on his own training with the elves, instead of wasting time training Mercury, when a normal human would suffice. It was not the only reason Mercury had for stopping their usual training, but Mercury had not told Eragon of the other reason: Mercury still felt slightly guilty about being the cause behind Eragon and Arya's capture, and wanted to make sure Eragon was better protected and more ready for any new threats.

Mercury was currently sitting in his tent and contemplating his actions between freeing Eragon and Arya and being picked up by them again. He had not had time to contemplate what he had done, while he was undercover in the Black Hand or when he had been running, but now he suddenly had the time needed.

_I killed people, lots of people, I even killed three guards, who for the past three weeks had been like my brothers in arms_, Mercury thought to himself, _but why do I not feel bad about it?_

Mercury had always thought killing would be hard, not the action of killing someone, but the psychological consequences that would follow. All the books had said it would be hard and that he would see their faces when he closed his eyes or when he fell asleep at night, but he had not seen their faces even once. Mercury did not feel regret for killing them, they had been in his way and the easiest way to remove them had been to kill them. It had been easy, disturbingly easy, to kill them and simply forget about them.

Mercury knew that killing was wrong; his lack of belief in deities and an afterlife had made him realize that once a person died, that person would never again exist on any plane of existence, but he still did not feel any regret about killing them.

Mercury now knew in his mind, that he would be able to kill again, he even suspected that if he was given the choice of killing 1000 of the Varden's soldiers in order to kill Galbatorix and topple his regime, he would do so. _The end justifies the means_, Mercury thought to himself, _if by killing 1000 random soldiers I could prevent several thousands more from dying, then I would do that_.

Mercury suddenly realized that he did not know his own purpose in the Varden. The foot soldiers knew their purpose: cannon fodder, the leaders all knew their purpose: to organize and encourage their armies, Arya and the elves knew their purpose: to protect the last free dragon rider, and Eragon...Eragon's purpose was to be an inspiration to the Varden, a hero, an idol...a guiding beam of light, around which the opposition to Galbatorix rallied.

_If Eragon is the beam of light_, Mercury mused to himself, _then I shall be the one who steps where the light cannot, who strikes that which the light must not lest it will be corrupted. I will train to become an assassin of the night, a thief in the dark, a spy amongst the enemies of the light...a shadow, no, The Shadow_.

As Mercury concluded his self-discovery, he realized that he needed new weapons, his old sword would still do, but he also needed different weapons. Weapons which he knew Alagaësia did not make, but one of the books he had brought with him had details of at least one the new weapons he needed, and the other he would need to start working on plans for.

Mercury drew out some pieces of paper and a quill and started to scratch ideas for how the weapon should function and what ideas could make that happen. He spent most of the day drawing, calculating and editing on his plans, until he finally had a specific drawing with precise measurements of each intricate part of the weapon.

Finally pleased with the result, Mercury headed over to Orik's personal forge, where he found Orik working on some non important dagger, which he simply did to enjoy himself. Orik looked up from his work and greeted his friend, "_oi Mercury, what brings you here? I thought that it was not until tomorrow, we were supposed to meet and make the 'secret project'?_"

Mercury was happy that Orik had stayed the same, despite his newfound knowledge of Mercury's deeds, but then again, he was foster brother to Eragon Shadeslayer, so he would be used to it by now. "_Aye Orik, it was not until tomorrow, we planned to work on our secret project of drinking a tankard of mead and playing a game of runes, which I am still happy that you do not tell anyone the fact that Eragon is not with us, but I believe I have a project, which we might enjoy some more_", Mercury said with a slight chuckle at the mention of the 'secret project'.

"_Oh, and what might that be?_", Orik said with curiosity, as he eyed the scrolls and the book in Mercury's hands.

"_Let us just say, that we have work to do_", Mercury said, as he started to explain show the drawings of the parts, and the details of the other project in the book, to Orik.

**Time skip(a few days later)  
**Mercury was walking towards Orik's personal armoury, a messenger had informed him that Orik wanted to see him. The messenger did not specify the reason behind the request, but Mercury assumed that since Orik had denied the messenger the reason, then it would have to be about the weapons, he was helping Mercury build.

As he walked, Mercury pondered how much quicker the Varden was moving, than what they had been moving when they marched on Belatona. The reason for this had been a stroke of genius from Nasuada's part: she had ordered the boats from Belatona to follow the Varden with most of their heavy supplies. This had lessened the burdens of everyone, which had made them capable of moving farther and faster each day.

As Mercury thought about Nasuada, his mind drifted towards her decision to send Roran Stronghammer to Aroughs shortly after the battle of Belatona. The siege forces had been unsuccessful so far, so Nasuada had decided to try and send Roran to perform one of his 'miracles', before she would send Eragon and Saphira, which would have left the rest of the Varden defenceless against Thorn and Murtagh.

Mercury had been so lost in his musings, that he did not realize he had made it to Orik's personal armoury. He knocked on the tent pole before entering, where he found Orik surveying one of the small four-bladed throwing stars.

"_What did you say you called these again?_", Orik asked, as he watched Mercury enter the tent.

"_I called them shurikens of the Hira type_", Mercury answered, as he took another of the shurikens from the table, and started to survey its surface and its weight distribution.

"_Hmm, strange weapons, how are they supposed to work?_", Orik asked with curiosity.

"_It is easy if you know how to do it_", Mercury said, as he moved the shuriken in his hand, so that he could throw it, "_you hold it kind of like this, and then you throw it towards a target, whether it is a man, dwarf, urgal or..._what is it again the word for an elf is?"

"Vanyali", Orik stated.

"Vanyali", Mercury repeated before continuing, "_anyway, you throw it like this_", and with that he threw the shuriken at a large wooden board close by, where it buried itself in pretty deep.

"_Wow that was actually almost exactly where I was aiming_", Mercury said with joy in his voice, "_I guess the many childhood hours wasted at throwing cards did come in handy, although I never expected them to_".

"_Hmm, it does not look that hard_", Orik said, as he eyed the shuriken in his hand, "_here let me have a try_".

And with that, Orik threw the shuriken in his hand towards the same wooden board, although the result varied greatly from Mercury's throw. Orik's shuriken flew upwards and to left, completely missing the entire wooden board, until it eventually was stopped by the newly polished armour of the dwarf king.

"_Curse, I just had that polished_", Orik cursed, as he examined the damage on the armour, "_well, at least I can confirm that it has the potential to kill a heavily armoured person. Look here, one of the blades is almost halfway through_".

"_Good, at least I now know that_", Mercury said, as he started to run his fingers across a new shuriken from the table.

The steel felt so smooth underneath his fingers, there were no fancy carvings in the shuriken, it was how Mercury liked it: simple and effective. He let his fingers glide towards the edge of one the blades, where they rested for a moment, before feeling the sharpness of the edge. Although Mercury had been very careful with his fingers, the edge was so sharp that it cut a small cut into one of his fingers.

Mercury did not flinch at the cut, it had been small and the edge had been so sharp, that he almost did not feel the cutting, but upon seeing the blood starting to seep out from the cut, Mercury immediately removed his fingers from the edge.

"_You might want to watch out in the future, those tiny blades are sharp enough to cut a leaf in half, and not on the broad side_", Orik said with pride.

"_How am I supposed to keep the blades so sharp?_", Mercury asked with wonder at the skill of the dwarves clear in his voice.

"_You do not have to, like your sword we have made sure that they will never need to be sharpened again_", Orik answered.

"_Thank you, my friend_", Mercury said with gratitude in his voice, "_how goes the other project, I had been requesting?_"

Orik seemed thoughtful for a moment before he replied, "_almost all of the parts have been completed, with the exception of a few, but those should be ready tomorrow or the day after that_".

"_That is good to hear, I will need as much time as possible to prepare myself with these new additions to my inventory_", Mercury said with a small smile gracing his lips.

"_I still however fail to see how those parts could ever form a weapon of any sort. The blades are too wide and long to be used for daggers, and yet too small for a normal weapon, and don't even get me started on the fact that neither have hilts to hold on to or the spring parts for that matter_", Orik said thoughtfully.

Mercury chuckled for a moment before replying, "_aye, I guess it would be kind of hard to figure out what the final weapon should look like, if you did not know how to assemble it_".

Orik arched an eyebrow at Mercury, as he said, "_you will let me see the assembled weapon, won't you?_"

Mercury again chuckled a bit at the dwarf's obvious dislike at being kept in the dark, before he said, "_you know I will, after all, I could never have made it without your aid, and there is no one I trust more in the Varden to keep this a secret_".

"_So you still want to keep these new weapons secret from the rest of the Varden?_", Orik said, clearly pleased with Mercury's trust at him.

"_I will_", Mercury stated in a businesslike tone, "_my weapons will not do any good on a large scale, besides each of the assembled weapons would have to be custom-made for the user, so the Varden would never have the resources to equip even a small group with them, not even counting in the many weeks or even months of training needed to train the group in the way to fight with them, and part of the weapons' effectiveness is the enemy not knowing about them_".

"_You say that they would need weeks of training, and yet you believe you can accomplish the same training in less than a week, because we arrive at Dras-Leona in a week and a half?_", Orik said with puzzlement in his voice.

"_Well, unlike the recruits I would have to train, I do not start from scratch. I already know much of the way I intend to fight, from my jiu jitsu training in the other world, I only need to incorporate the weapons into that hand to hand combat_", Mercury said, as he thought about how they might affect his jiu jitsu and how he could improve upon it.

"_That reminds me, have you noticed the way Arya and Eragon have been acting lately?_", Orik said, as he changed the topic completely, which caught Mercury off guard.

Mercury considered how he could avoid telling Orik about Arya and Eragon's improved relationship without lying or in any direct way insult his friend's trust, but in the end he decided that it would be wise to ascertain Orik's knowledge of their relationship before doing anything, so he asked, "_what do you mean, have they been acting differently and how?_"

Orik seemed to notice the pause between his question and Mercury's response, but he continued anyway, "_it is not very noticeable, but I believe there might be something, which they are not telling us. Every time their eyes meet, it seems like they linger, if only for a short fraction of a second, but there is more: when they spar, they both look slightly happier at the end of the match, than at the beginning, like the match has another meaning than that of simple training_".

Mercury guessed that Orik already had his suspicions about the reason behind this, and he knew that the fact that Mercury had requested Orik to cover for Eragon, made Orik know that Mercury knew more than he let on, so he decided the best way was to simply tell him, but to have him swear to secrecy beforehand, lest Orik might confront Eragon about it.

"_I know some of what is going on, but before I tell you, you must swear to secrecy_", Mercury said, while looking Orik directly in the eyes, before adding, "_since I do not know the Ancient language and that I trust your word, a vow in this language will suffice_".

Orik quickly said, "_I, Orik Thrifksson and the forty-third king of the dwarves, hereby swear upon my blood and my stone that I shall not reveal any of the information given to me, unless permitted by Mercury Iridium, friend of dwarves_".

"_Good, now with that out of the world, listen carefully and don't ask any questions until I am finished_", Mercury said, before he started to explain the nature of the special relationship between Eragon and Arya, and how they had agreed to keep it a secret from all. He further explained why he had made the request to Orik about covering for Eragon, and how and why he had tried to remove the basis of any rumours spreading in the Varden.

Night had fallen when Mercury was done explaining, and Orik had kept silent through the whole story, but now he spoke for the first time, "_we cannot let Islanzadi know about this from rumours, if she found out before we take Dras-Leona, we would not have enough time to both plan our continued war effort and deal with the ensuing political scene_".

"_I agree, which is why I have tried adamantly to quell any rumours, but I fear that it will not be long before rumours starts spreading, if we at least not try to either change their behaviour or protect them from prying ears and eyes_", Mercury said with a little bit of exhaustion in his voice.

"_How about Eragon's elven guards, surely they must have noticed this behaviour, and since Islanzadi has not contacted us yet, I guess they are keeping it to themselves_", Orik suddenly said.

Mercury considered it for a while, before replying, "_aye, you may be correct. I suggest we try to coordinate our efforts with them, but it will have to wait until morning, as it is late and you look like you could fall asleep standing_".

With that they parted and bid each other good night, before returning to their individual tents.

* * *

Yay, this is one of the chapters I have simply been dying to write, as it starts to show Mercury's character evolving into my finished idea of him, and yes I know I might have made him sound slightly sociopathic, but I neither could nor would make him a hero character like Eragon.


	14. Knowledge is the way

**Knowledge is the way**

**Eragon POV  
**The Varden had been stuck at Dras-Leona for two days now, Murtagh and Thorn had barred their way into the city, which had been deeply frustrating for all in the Varden. Eragon had noted that since returning from the Black Hand, Mercury had acted more strangely than usual: he had divided all of his spare time between working at Orik's personal forge and wandering out into a nearby forest.

Eragon had at one time followed Mercury into the woods, but it had seemed like Mercury had known he was there, despite Eragon's invisibility spell, because Mercury had walked into a glade, stopped and turned around to stare directly into Eragon's invisible eyes, but without saying a single word to Eragon.

Eragon was currently duelling Arya, but unlike their previous duels, this one had turned into something beyond sparring or their usual silent conversations. Neither party had offered respite in their relentless struggles and neither had requested it. Eragon had only won two of their matches, neither were with any methods he would have dared to use in a real battle, but right now his rage was fuming because of his many losses.

The whole scene reminded him a little about when he had trained with Mercury, only this time Eragon was in Mercury's position and Arya in his. As Eragon thought about these battles, he remembered how Mercury had tried to throw his sword at Eragon, in an attempt to distract him, while he would try and move closer to overpower him in hand to hand combat. Mercury had been unsuccessful because of Eragon's elven speed, but Arya would not have the speed advantage over Eragon, so Eragon decided to give it a try.

Eragon began to get ready to throw his sword, when a mind touched his own. The mind belonged to a male dragon, so Eragon naturally threw up his mental barriers to protect him from Thorn's possible attack, but before he did, Glaedr's voice rumbled mightily in his mind, _enough_.

The elves and Eragon quickly asked Glaedr a lot of questions, but the thoughts collided into a disharmonious ramble, which Glaedr quieted down with a second, _enough_. Glaedr then scolded Eragon for his continued duels with Arya instead of training his mind.

Eragon countered this by saying, _if I can only keep Galbatorix at bay with my mind, then it might still be decided by the sword. Anyway the king is not the only enemy we need to worry about. There is Murtagh and gods know what other dark creatures the king has in his service. I could not defeat Durza alone nor Varaug or Murtagh, and even Mercury saved me and Arya from the Black Hand at one time, but I cannot depend on their aid whenever I am in trouble. I need to be better with a blade_.

_Varaug? Mercury? These are names I have not heard before_, Glaedr said with mild confusion.

Eragon then relayed all of the events since leaving Du Weldenvarden: the taking of Feinster and killing of the shade Varaug, Angela's prophecy and the subsequent retrieval of Mercury from another world, the training of Mercury and the march to Belatona, although he still kept the parts about him and Arya hidden, the capture of Eragon, Mercury and Arya by the Black Hand and their escape, the battle of Belatona, the retrieval of Mercury from his undercover stay at the Black Hand and finally the ongoing siege of Dras-Leona.

Glaedr took a couple of minutes to process the information, before he said in a slightly happier tone, _you are too ambitious if you want to be able to take on shades unpunished, but I have become curious about this individual you call Mercury. Bring him here, I wish to see him fight one of your elven guards_.

The request confused Eragon, so he said, _but you have already seen all of my training matches with him. Why do you wish to see him again?_

_You were his teacher and the only elf he has fought, you both know each other and expect certain things from each other in your fights, which is why I need to see him against someone who does not know him and he does not know, perhaps you can learn something as well_, Glaedr said in a lecturing voice.

Eragon did a quick mind search of the Varden, and found Mercury to be with Orik in his personal armoury, before he quickly headed over there. The tent of the armoury was easily 20 metres long and 10 metres wide, its colour was a golden yellow and it had a black stripe along the edges of the canvas.

Eragon was about to knock on the middle tent pole in one of the ends of the tent, but decided against it, and instead drew the canvas aside and walked right in. The moment he walked in a thud could be heard from the tent pole only 5 cm. from his head. As Eragon looked to see what had made the sound, he saw a small 4-bladed disc of a sort, imbedded into the tent pole. The strange item was definitely made of high quality steel, but it bore no markings or carvings to adorn the surface. As Eragon tore his gaze away from the item, he saw Mercury and Orik in the other end of the tent; they both seemed just as surprised to see him, as he had been at the strange item burrowing itself right next to his head.

"Sorry lad, we did not know you were entering, otherwise we would never have thrown it", came Orik's apologetic voice.

Mercury said a few words in a language, which to Eragon seemed to resemble the dwarven language, before he switched to Eragon's natural language, "sorry I meant: I am sorry too, we never meant to hurt you".

"Did you throw this at me all the way from over there?", Eragon said with a slightly gleeful voice, while he freed the throwing weapon from the tent pole and started to walk over to Mercury and Orik.

"No, Orik said I could not hit a knot in the tent pole with my shuriken from over here, and I said I could", Mercury said with a small smile gracing his lips, "so I was actually aiming at the tent pole, but do pray tell, did I hit the knot?"

Eragon looked back at the tent pole, where the hole of the...shuriken?...was, and sure enough as he looked at the hole, he noticed a knot in the wood a little further down.

"Nay, you missed by maybe 4-5 cm.", Eragon said with wonder at the accuracy, which Mercury had shown.

"Bloody hell, now I have to do that thing for a week", Mercury said with a slight growl, "anyway why are you here, I thought you were training with Arya?"

At the mention of his training with Arya, Eragon remembered the reason for his coming here, "I was, but someone very important to my training and our chances against Galbatorix decided that he needed to see you fight one of my elven guards".

Mercury turned his head in a 45 degree angle sideways, while raising the upper eyebrow and furrowing the lower, which gave him a curious and questioning look, which Eragon had only seen the few times Mercury had been truly intrigued by something.

Eragon had not told Mercury of Glaedr or the existence of Eldunarí, it had after all been one of the great secrets of the dragon riders, but to prevent the inevitable questions that would follow, Eragon raised a hand and said, "I can't say who asked to see you or why, so don't ask. I can tell you however that the person would not look mildly on you if you did not perform your utmost at this match".

Mercury thought for a second, before he nodded towards Eragon and said, "I will go fetch my things then", as he said this he winked at Orik with a small smile gracing his lips, before continuing, "where can I meet you?"

Eragon brushed the questions from the action aside as he said, "by the training field. You will not have a trouble finding us, Blödhgarn and the other elves have made sure that no one enters within a radius of 100 metres from us".

Another slightly smaller smile graced Mercury's lips as he simply said, "good", and although Eragon thought the word had a double meaning to Mercury, he did not push for it, so he exited the tent and headed back towards the training area.

Once there he informed Glaedr and the rest that Mercury would join them shortly, after which he went to stand next to Arya and waited in silence. Mercury arrived a few minutes later; he had his sword strapped to his back, but had only decided to wear some black leather bracers, which covered his entire forearms. Eragon thought he saw a glint of steel in one of Mercury's boots, but dismissed it as a trick of the light, he was however curious as to why Mercury had only chosen to wear bracers as armour.

Mercury looked around at the gathered elves with a slightly questioning look, before he directed his attention towards Eragon and said, "I don't see anyone, which I do not know, should this individual not be here if he needed to witness this?"

"He is watching from afar, but he will see all you do anyway", Eragon answered.

Mercury seemed to be even more curious with this new information, but he was stopped from asking any questions, as one of Eragon's guards stepped forward and said, "I am to be your opponent, but make no mistake in believing you can defeat me, human".

Eragon remembered the guard's name to be Laufin, he had been on guard duty the night Mercury had ran to Eragon's tent to talk about magic. Eragon knew that even if his elven guards had not been the most powerful or experienced swordfighters, they would still be able to take on any human with ease.

_Watch and listen, youngling_, came Glaedr's voice, effectively shaking Eragon out of his reverie.

Eragon noted that although Mercury had just had his sword blocked by one of the elves, he had not taken a fighting stance; instead he seemed to be studying his opponent. After half a minute Laufin broke the silence by saying, "shall we get started or stand here and turn to dust?"

Mercury nodded faintly and took his fighting stance, Eragon knew from the stance that Mercury would wait for Laufin to strike, before doing anything. Sure enough, Mercury kept waiting for Laufin to strike, even when Laufin feinted misstepping to draw Mercury out, even if he had misstepped, Eragon knew that giving his elven speed, he would be able to take a proper fighting stance and counter Mercury, before Mercury had even reached halfway towards him.

Eventually Laufin seemed to lose patience and decided to attack Mercury, his blade came swiftly through the air and Mercury only just managed to block it, but his block had left his left thigh open, which Laufin quickly took to his advance and aimed his sword at the thigh. Mercury just managed to move his leg far enough away, so that it would not have been a grievous wound if the fight had been real, but merely a nuisance. Eragon cursed under his breath; surely Mercury had known not to leave such an opening, had he really forgotten so much in the time since their last training session?

After that both parties retreated backwards, where Mercury again seemed to take the defensive stance, while Laufin soon charged again. The second round ended a few seconds later with what would have been a small cut at Mercury's right shoulder.

As they again retreated back to their previous positions, Eragon studied both parties. Laufin had a small grin adorning his face, clearly pleased with the easy match, while Mercury did not seem the least bit concerned that he had just been marked twice within seconds. Before taking his eyes off of Mercury, Eragon noticed Mercury fiddle for a split second with his right bracer, but he shrugged it off as him just adjusting a loose strap.

Mercury retook the defensive stance and waited for Laufin to strike, an offer Laufin did not refuse. Laufin made a quick strike at Mercury, which Mercury managed to block and then followed it up with a strike from the left. Eragon could see Laufin intended to end the fight here and now, by countering the strike from Mercury with all the strength he could muster, and thereby knock the sword out of Mercury's hand and effectively ending the match.

As Eragon watched Laufin's sword meet with Stille Död, he absentmindedly noticed that Mercury's stance was off from what it should have been, and as the two swords met, Eragon noted that Mercury did not seem to resist the force of Laufin's strike. Eragon watched with wonder as Mercury used the force of Laufin's own strike to propel him into a pivot with an elf-like speed. He did not hold onto his sword, that would have been impossible, instead he simply let it go the moment it stopped providing him with more thrust, and as he did so, he stretched his left arm out angling his hand so that it was heading towards the back of Laufin due to the pivot and Laufin's counter, while he at the same time stretched his right arm out completely.

Eragon was stricken with awe, as a blade the length of Mercury's forearm sprang forth from underneath the right bracer. The blade was as almost as wide as Mercury's forearm and it seemed to begin narrowing down into a tip at around two thirds down its length. The blade had clearly been made for stabbing and slashing, and judging from the thickness of the centre, you would parry with the broad side instead of with the edges.

In the split second Eragon had admired the blade, Mercury had pushed Laufin in the back with his left hand, which had made Laufin stumble forwards and into the ground, where Mercury had then placed his right knee at his back to prevent him from getting up, and the tip of his blade at the back of Laufin's exposed neck.

"Dead, elf", Mercury said with a triumphant grin on his face.

Eragon watched as Laufin's face fumed with anger, before Laufin shouted, "jierda", which sent Mercury flying several metres into the air. Before anyone could intervene, Mercury had somehow managed to stabilize himself enough in the air, so that he could reach down into his boots, where he in one swift move, threw four shurikens at Laufin.

The shurikens buried themselves into both of Laufin's legs and arms, which got a howl of agony out of Laufin, while Eragon watched Mercury plummet towards the ground. Mercury softened the landing by doing a quick roll, but Eragon still thought he could hear at least one bone crack.

A great commotion arose among the elven guards from the actions taken by both parties, until Glaedr shouted to everyone, including Mercury, with anger present at his voice, _ENOUGH!_

The elves immediately quieted down, with the exception of a few groans of pain from Laufin, Mercury, who had still not risen from the ground, looked bewildered around for the unknown entity and Eragon looked to Arya seeking her advice on the matter.

_You act like younglings, all of you_, Glaedr said angrily to everyone, _Laufin, you should be better at controlling your temper, you are far too old for such rash actions. When faced with defeat at least have the dignity of admitting it instead of acting such. Mercury, although Laufin's actions were unjustified, you should not have tried to kill him, he is too valuable for the Varden and to Eragon's safety, from Eragon's memories I thought you would have at least remembered that_.

At his scolding, Mercury seemed to stop looking around for the source of the entity, and instead spoke out loud, Eragon could hear that Mercury's voice was a bit strained, although he did not know whether it was from the cracked bone or from residual anger, "I never meant to kill him..maybe maim him a bit, but certainly not kill him. Now, am I done here?"

_You may go_, Glaedr said.

Eragon noted that Mercury did not seek out his aid in healing him, but he was fairly sure, from Mercury's limping away from the training area, that he had at least broken his shinbone.

A few of the elves had in the mean time removed the shurikens from Laufin, and was in the process of healing his wounds, which had been quite deep. Eragon felt a strange curiosity towards seeing the shurikens, so he quickly said, "kausta", and summoned the shurikens to his hands. As he began to study the weapons, which were still partly covered by Laufin's blood, Glaedr interrupted his thought, _Now, Eragon what did you learn from this?_

Eragon's first thought was,_ never make Mercury mad at me_, but he managed to avoid this thought from reaching Glaedr. As Eragon continued to ponder the question, he eventually came to the conclusion, that Mercury had seen a lucky possibility and went for it, despite it being a reckless thing to do in a real battle.

Glaedr was not pleased with Eragon's answer, as he said, _you have much to learn youngling. Do you think Mercury idly fought a superior fighter in speed, strength and skill? No, he planned every event to lead up to this one point_.

_But master, why did he not do it in the previous rounds?_, Eragon asked confused.

Glaedr seemed to be a bit amused by this, as he said, _he needed to prepare his trap to exploit the elves' most general and crucial flaw: their pride. You, his teacher, should have noticed that he always kept on the defensive and even willingly opened himself for small cuts; all of this was done to goad Laufin into believing he could end the fight with a single powerful blow_.

Eragon had noticed that Mercury kept on the defensive and made errors, which he should have known how to avoid, but he had never figured he had done it on purpose, _should I do like him then master? Open myself for small cuts to lure my enemies into a false sense of victory?_

_No!_, came Glaedr's thundering voice, _but you should learn why he did what he did. He understands and sees the world around him for what it is, just like Murtagh and Arya understands and sees you for what you are, which is the reason for their victories over you. They understand you, but you do not understand them. The way of the warrior is knowledge, not power or speed, but knowledge, knowledge of your enemy can render their speed and power obsolete, so now look at Arya. She sees you, but do you see her? Do you see her clearly enough to best her in combat?_

Glaedr then had Eragon and Arya continue with their sparring, but he would occasionally give Eragon advices and tell him when he made mistakes.

* * *

Before you say it, the blades are NOT inspired from Assassins Creed, but rather from the first Underworld movie(Lucien's blades), and as a bonus I will tell you how they function. The blades are locked in position, hidden under the bracer, and when Mercury needs to use them, he unlocks the lock by turning a button under his arm. He then needs to use the momentum of either throwing your arms around or down to drive the blades forth, where they lock into a new lock. When he wants to retract the blades, he turns another button, a little higher up from the first, which unlocks the lock, and two springs then push the blade back into the original position, where they again lock into place.


	15. Into the bowels of DrasLeona

**Into the bowels of Dras-Leona**

**Eragon POV  
**Eragon was searching for the entrance to the secret tunnel into Dras-Leona, which Jeod had discovered from some old texts and documents. It was the middle of the night, and he, Arya, Wyrden, Angela and Mercury where supposed to use this tunnel to get into Dras-Leona and open the gates in the morning, so the city could be taken by the Varden.

Eragon had no idea how Mercury had managed to join the mission crew. He had not been present at the secret meeting, where the tunnel had been discussed and the plan to send Eragon, Arya, Wyrden and Angela inside had been made, and Eragon was quite sure no one present at the meeting would have spilled the secret, well he was never completely sure about Angela, but she had seemed just as surprised when Nasuada had informed them that Mercury would be joining them, despite having never mentioned his name even once at the previous meeting.

Eragon had to admit that he had been a little happy about Mercury joining the mission. Eragon knew that if he had been asked just a few days earlier, before the training match between Mercury and Laufin, he would have doubted Mercury's abilities, despite his earlier infiltration and escape from the Black Hand, but after seeing him beat one of the most experienced swordfighters in the elven kingdom, he had changed his opinion drastically on Mercury, he had also since then returned the four shurikens, which Mercury had left.

As he thought about Mercury, his eyes drifted towards him, or where he should be, because Eragon had a very hard time seeing Mercury in his new armour. Mercury had shown up for the mission, wearing a full leather armour, where Eragon recognized the bracer's from the previous duel, with a cloak and hood, his sword being kept hidden between the cloak and his back, so that only the hilt was slightly visible, but Eragon knew he could draw it at a moment's notice, and finally he had wrapped a cloth around his face, so that only his eyes were visible. The armour, cloak, hood and cloth were all as black as night, the only exception to this being his brown hiking boots, although the sole was black, which Eragon remembered had been one of the few possessions Mercury had brought with him from his home world.

Eragon had initially asked Mercury, whether he would not prefer some proper metal armour, to which Mercury had simply shrugged and said, "steel weighs too much and does not bend and stretch as easily as leather".

_When did he have time to make all of this?_, Eragon thought to himself, regarding both the new armour, the shurikens and his new arm-blade-things, _and that is just the things I know about, what about the things I am sure he has, which I do not know about_.

Eragon had at first been a little hurt, that Mercury had not deemed Eragon trustworthy enough to share his secret weapons with, but as he thought about it, he realized that for some reason, it was simply not in Mercury's nature to share his secrets lightly, besides Eragon had not shared the knowledge of Glaedr or Eldunarí with him, so it kind of evened up.

"I found it", came Arya's musical voice from a place behind Eragon.

Everyone quickly converged on the entrance, where Eragon noticed a trail leading away from it, indicating that several people had used the tunnel recently, so they decided to continue with caution. Arya and Wyrden walked in first with their red werelights, next came Mercury with no light, then Eragon and lastly Angela and Solembum, both Eragon and Angela had summoned similar red werelights as Arya and Wyrden.

The tunnel was not very large, so they had to walk single file through the tunnel, where all but Angela had to walk bent over, because of the low ceiling. The tunnel was slimy and smelled like decayed hay along with sewage, and every time they would make a noise, the tunnel would make the noise, sound much stronger and echo throughout the entire tunnel.

Eragon noted that every time a new sound would be heard, Mercury's hand automatically flew under his cloak and towards the back of his belt. _He no doubt has a few surprises stored there_, Eragon chuckled to himself.

They had walked in the cramped tunnel for what seemed like hours to Eragon, when they suddenly emerged into a rectangular room with three identical archways, which led to three identical chambers.

"Which way shall we take?", Wyrden asked.

"Go left, it is always left", Angela said with confidence.

"Left according to whose direction? If we came from the other side left would be...", Eragon said with a slight twinkle in his eyes and a small smile at his lips, before he was interrupted by the herbalist, "left would be right and right would be right. Then let us try it your way", and with that she turned to the right archway.

Eragon noticed Mercury's right index finger pointing towards his left and his left index finger pointing towards his right, before he slightly shook his head and followed the herbalist through the archway.

Seeing Mercury bewildered by Angela, brought another small smile to Eragon's lips, it humoured him to watch other people's confused reactions, brought forth by the strange herbalist.

The group eventually stopped in a circular room with seven archways evenly distributed.

"Mark, where we came from or we will lose our direction", Arya commanded.

Eragon obeyed without question and went to scratch a small mark onto the archway, which they had come from, but as he did so, he noticed that every 5 m. for as far back as he could see, a small pile of pebbles would lie. Eragon found the pattern strange, and was just about to ask if the others had noticed it, when a voice sounded directly behind him.

"So you have finally noticed my trail, took you long enough", came Mercury's slightly gleeful voice.

"When did you start doing that and would you stop sneaking up behind me?", Eragon said with both curiosity and annoyance in his voice, curiosity at the small piles of pebbles and annoyance at Mercury's ability to sneak up behind him without Eragon's notice.

"Just after we went through that first camber with the three archways. I thought it a good idea to be able to backtrack our steps no matter how lost we got in this labyrinth", Mercury said with a shrug, and then continued in a gleeful voice, "and I am not intentionally sneaking up on you, it is just my gear, which makes me more quiet than most people, so you might want to get used to it".

"Why did you not tell us about making the trail?", Eragon asked, he would originally have asked what Mercury had meant with his gear making him more quiet, but he figured that if Mercury would have told him, he had already done so.

Mercury shrugged again as he said, "you never asked and it never became important. I do not ask you why you sometimes talk to a patch of dirt in your tent".

Eragon tensed at the mention of his hiding place for Glaedr's Eldunarí, but Mercury did not seem to notice, as he turned around and walked towards Angela, who was watching the ceiling with great curiosity.

"What have you found?", Eragon curiously asked Arya, who merely pointed at the ceiling.

As Eragon studied the ceiling, he noticed that the cracks were actually beautiful runes, and they extended across the entire ceiling. The runes did not form the words, which Eragon was used to, so he asked, "what does it say? Is it in the dwarven language?"

"No, not from what I can tell", Mercury said, as he began to study the runes with the rest, "it seems to be speaking of someone named Tosks, but I can't be sure, the words are twitched and strange".

"It is the story of the fanatic Tosks, from his birth to death", Wyrden said, "he was the first to organize the worship of Helgrind into a system".

"Worship of Helgrind? You mean those idiots who willingly cut off parts of their own body, and drink the blood of their high-priest?", Mercury said in an angry voice, which Eragon found to be strange, as Mercury had never even met or seen one of them.

"Yes, they believe it brings them closer to their deities", Wyrden said, while continuing to study the ceiling, "can we stay here for a moment, this story has never been revealed to outsiders before".

"Alright, but only a short while", Arya consented, before she started to examine the remaining archways, by singing a spell of searching and finding at each.

Eragon noted that while Angela and Wyrden greedily sucked in this newfound treasure of knowledge, the usually always knowledge hungry Mercury simply chose to sit down on the floor with his legs crossed and his eyes shut.

"Should you not be reading this as well, I thought you could never become too fed up with new knowledge", Eragon asked Mercury, as he sat down beside him.

Mercury opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Eragon. Eragon thought he could detect a hint of disgust in Mercury's eyes, despite the dark, but remained silent, waiting for Mercury to say something. Mercury did not take long to think about what he wanted to say, "why would I want to learn the history of a fanatic with a wish to dismember and cripple all around him? Cults like this are not rare in my world, and they always end with the leader either taking his own life along with all his disciples or if you are lucky, they will be stopped before that. I detest anyone who follows a belief such as this".

As Eragon thought about Mercury's words, a thought struck him: Eragon did not know what deities Mercury believed in, as there were sure to be a few strange ones in every world.

"What do you believe in then?", Eragon asked Mercury with curiosity clear in his voice.

Mercury looked at Eragon for a little while before replying, "I am an atheist, which means I do not believe in any deities, an afterlife or other such notions. I have come to learn that by accepting death as the final stop for all beings, you learn to appreciate your life even more, and that is why I detest people who willingly cripple themselves for no good reason. I do not detest religions as a whole, as many have good and wise teachings, but I believe that you should not follow a religion's rules unless you would do the same if a complete stranger came and asked you to do it. For example, if a stranger told you it was wrong to rob someone, you would think it just as good an advice as if it was said from a preacher, but if a stranger came and asked you to cut off your own limb for no good reason other than to be his friend, then you would refuse, while a preacher might have convinced you to do it".

As Eragon digested Mercury's speech, a thought occurred to him, "but what if a god came down and demanded it of you?"

Mercury shrugged as he said, "then I would not want to follow that god unless he could give me a bloody good reason to cripple myself".

Before Eragon had time to reply, a loud scream, followed by a hissing, erupted through the tunnels.

"This way", Arya said and motioned towards a tunnel.

"No, we can't leave Solembum", Angela shouted frantically.

Before anymore could be said, six doors, who had been hidden in three different corridors, opened, and out poured a mass of black clad men with black scarves across their faces, so that only their eyes were visible.

Eragon and Mercury quickly rose from their positions and drew their swords along with the rest of the group. Wyrden cried, "letta", and one of the groups collided with each other, but the rest of the groups were still advancing towards the centre of the room, where the five members had joined.

Eragon noted that Mercury only held his two-handed sword with his left hand, while his right was positioned at his belt just behind the cloak, like he had done every time an unknown noise had erupted. Before Eragon could ask what he was doing, he had already thrown two of his shurikens towards the exposed throats of two of the attacking men, which fell immediately to the deadly strike.

Mercury repeated this procedure three more times, killing another six enemies, before he reached into his boots and threw four more shurikens at his section of enemies. One of the shurikens had been off course and buried itself in the shoulder of one of the attackers, to which he simply started laughing.

"They cannot feel pain, aim for their neck, head and heart", Eragon shouted, before quietly adding to Mercury, "how many more have you got left?"

"That was my last two", Mercury grumbled, as he took his sword into both hands and prepared to fend off his attackers.

As Eragon looked around at the rest, he noted that Wyrden had taken to shooting thunder bolts out of his right arm, while Arya and Angela both desperately tried to stem the tide of the ever advancing enemies.

"This way, quick", Arya shouted and together with Wyrden, she managed to carve a way towards the tunnel she had mentioned earlier.

Eragon followed with Angela covering his rear, it was not until he had reached the tunnel, that he saw Mercury had been cut off and surrounded at the opposite corner as the tunnel they were in.

"Come", Arya said as she grabbed the lingering Eragon, who had stood and watched as more and more guards seemed to converge on the alone and increasingly desperate Mercury.

"We can't leave him", Eragon muttered and prepared to step back to fight through the enemies, but he was stopped by a look from Mercury and his voice quickly followed, "seek cover, NOW!"

As Eragon watched, Mercury sheathed his sword, which seemed to slow the attackers advance, as they figured he had surrendered, he then reached with both of his hands towards the back of his belt, took a deep breath while momentarily closing his eyes, and with his left hand he drew a small pouch with a lit wire sticking into it, and threw it up directly up above his head before he fell to the ground.

Arya, who had realized what Mercury had been doing, immediately seized both Wyrden and Eragon and threw them, along with herself, towards the ground. The moment after they landed on the ground, an explosion shook the walls and a ball of flame and pure force reached out into every corridor and every tunnel extending from the circular chamber they had just been in. The force glided across Eragon with minimal damage, although his wards did have to ward off some heat and pushing from the explosion.

As Eragon looked back into the room, he noted how the floor had gained a wavering look around the centre of the explosion and that no bodies could be seen so close to the explosion sight. It was not until further away from the explosion, that body parts began to show up in a bloody and gruesome sight. The room had been completely swiped clean of all life, be it friend, foe or some innocent wildlife, which dwelled there.

As Eragon gazed at the scene, more black guards seemed to pour out from the openings, from which they had originally come from, and as he turned to face them, a high pitched scream came from behind him. Another door had sprung forth from the wall behind him, and Angela had been too subdued by the explosion to fight off the guards, who managed to drag her inside, before they closed the door and it looked like stone again.

Arya and Eragon both tried to open the door, but with the advancing guards from the tunnels they eventually had to resort to leaving it and instead followed Wyrden down the tunnel.

As Wyrden reached the end of the tunnel, a trap was sprung, and arrows with amethyst-arrowheads shot forth from the walls. They stopped Wyrden in the middle of a jump and held him in place, while only a few centimetres from his skin, before a sparkling burst of energy soared through them and with that, they broke through Wyrden's wards and pinned him to the wall.

Eragon stared dumbfound at the dead elf, until Arya shook him out of his reverie by ordering him to cut a path through the arrows with Brisingr. As they passed the arrows, they emerged in a big dark chamber with more and bigger amethysts and a black altar at the end. Eragon only managed to jump so far across the amethyst, before everything went blank.

* * *

First of all, the story will progress like the book until shortly after Angela killed the squad of guards with that extreme speed spell, so don't be confused when they have already escaped the hatching Ra'zac and are trying to reach the surface.

Second of all, if I have offended some religion by advocating against cutting off body parts as a ritual to your god/gods, know that I sincerely do NOT apologize and that you really should find a better religion to worship.


	16. Ascension

**Ascension**

**Eragon POV  
**Eragon, Arya, the novice, Angela and Solembum were ascending through the dark tunnels under the cathedral of Tosks. Angela had just dispatched a group of soldiers by utilizing a spell of a sort, which still confused Eragon.

The tunnel ahead was dark and only lit by the occasional torches, but due to his elven sight, Eragon had no trouble seeing. They continued down this path for another minute or so, before the memory from the novice told them to go to the left at the next junction.

As they turned left, a door slightly ahead of them opened, and out walked a patrol of 25 of the same blackclad guards, which had ambushed them in the tunnels and then again later during their escape. Eragon knew that Angela would not be able to best these guards, as she had done the last, so he readied Tinkledeath to prepare for the inevitable encounter, which would soon occur.

As the first guard came forward, Eragon swung Tinkledeath and cut through the man's sword, as if it was nothing more than a straw, but due to the advancement of his fellow guards, Eragon was unable to finish the man.

Eragon fought on and killed another 7 guards, but due to the sheer number of guards, he was slowly being driven back. "we can't keep fighting like this", Arya shouted next to him, "they will soon call for reinforcements, if they have not already done so".

Shortly after Arya said this, Eragon saw something, which made his heart plummet: Another group of 15 guards had just arrived behind the remaining guards. Eragon soon began to fight with desperation, but despite having already taken out 17 of the initial guards, he had doubts whether he could keep it up.

To Eragon's surprise a commotion occurred in the back of the group of guards, which spread enough confusion throughout the remaining guards to allow Eragon and Angela to advance on the guards.

As they cut through the few remaining guards, they saw what had caused the commotion: one of the new guards had turned on his brethren and attacked them in the rear. The guard was clad and armed exactly like the remaining guards, but to Eragon he still seemed slightly familiar.

After having dispatched the final guard, Eragon pointed the tip of Tinkledeath towards the turncoat guard and said, "we thank you for your assistance, but we can't let you come with us armed, as we don't know whether you merely turned on your brethren to have a chance of stabbing us when our backs are turned".

After hearing Eragon's speech the guard did something, which Eragon did not expect him to do, he laughed and said, "Oh good, you have finally begun not just trusting anyone who appears to give you a helping hand", and as he said this he removed his black scarf, "but don't you think you can allow me to bear arms?"

Eragon was only slightly shocked when the turncoat guard was revealed to be Mercury. Eragon had not thought it possible to escape the explosion in the tunnels, but then again he also did not think it possible for Mercury to survive, infiltrate and escape from the Black Hand and duel and win against an elf, but Mercury had already done all that.

"But how did you escape the explosion? That explosion destroyed every living being in the entire room, not just killed, destroyed", Arya said with a puzzled face and a voice which showed great curiosity and concern.

"Another time, another place", Mercury said as he turned around, "I think the exit should be in this general direction".

"Aye, the novice's memories say the same", Angela replied before trotting off ahead of the rest of the group.

The group continued to walk and as they did so, Eragon noticed Mercury eyeing the novice, which was still carried by Arya. "I gave him my word that if he helped free us, we would take him with us", Eragon said in advance of the question, which would have undoubtedly followed.

"Why is he unconscious?", Mercury asked.

It was Arya who replied this time, "he tried to kill us after failing to free us, but Angela intervened and knocked him out, before she freed us".

"Hmm, I would have just left him", Mercury said without any visible indication of being disturbed the slightest by leaving him to die.

"I gave him my word", Eragon countered.

"And he gave you his word, that he would free you, and failed in doing so, and then decided to kill you, but no matter I guess since he is still here, neither Arya nor Angela would have been able to convince you otherwise, so let us just leave it", Mercury said as they continued walking down the tunnel, "by the way, I am sorry for not being able to free you myself, but I got caught up in a patrol and there was no way I could have avoided that without raising the alarm".

"Don't think about it, I am just happy that you are alive, but where are your weapons and your armour?", Eragon said.

"I could not exactly blend in wearing those, so I left them down in the tunnels", Mercury answered, before he continued, "I think we are here".

As Eragon looked forward, he saw that they had reached a stone staircase, which seemed to lead to the surface. The group ascended the staircase and found themselves in the middle of the cathedral, where a very bright rose-coloured light almost blinded Eragon, due to his prolonged stay in the dark tunnels.

Less than a metre and a half in front of Eragon was the high-priest and a priestess, who was kneeling in front of the high-priest with a chalice half full of his blood, and as Eragon looked around he saw the rest of the clergy assembled as well. The high-priest and the priestess stared confused at Eragon's group, before the priestess dropped the chalice and made to stand protectively in front of the high-priest.

Eragon quickly dispatched two guards with spears, who had been the first to awaken from the shock and had attacked him, but the rest of the clergy immediately after launched a mental attack on him. The attack was divided and would have no doubt overwhelmed him if they had acted as a single unity. Arya's mind soon pressed against his, and together they started to advance on the clergy.

At his left Eragon saw Angela and Solembum running through the rows of benches, stabbing and killing various priests and guards, at his right he saw Mercury looking strictly at a priest right in front of him. When neither Mercury nor the priest moved, Eragon assumed that they had begun a mental fight of their own.

Suddenly the priest's face contorted for a fraction of a second, before he clutched his right hand at his heart and dropped to his knees. He looked up at Mercury with pure contempt in his expression, before he closed his eyes and fell to the side.

_How did Mercury just kill that man, can he use magic?_, Eragon thought to himself, and Arya, who still had her mind joined with his, thought, _now is not the time, we can ask him later_.

They quickly dispatched the remaining clergy, but when the time came to dispatch the high-priest, the high-priest somehow managed to launch a mental attack against all five members of the group, which was powerful enough to cripple all except Angela.

Eragon had almost never felt such a powerful mind, the high-priest had managed to singlehandedly bind a werecat, an elf, a dragon rider, Mercury and a witch with his mind. The high-priest did amazing and complicated things like binding some of Eragon's thoughts to Arya's and Solembum's, but for some reason he never involved either Mercury's or Angela's thoughts in this, and as Eragon sneaked a look upon Mercury and Angela, he noticed how Angela had begun to slowly move towards the high-priest, while Mercury's face indicated pure and raw rage at the high-priest.

During the mental struggle, Eragon's mind was pushed against Mercury's mind for a brief second by the high-priest, as a way to confuse them. It was then that Eragon discovered why Mercury's thoughts had never been added to the confusing pool of thoughts from himself, Arya and Solembum: Mercury did not have any stray thoughts to add, because he had somehow managed to construct a wall of hot burning rage, which incinerated anything and everything it came into contact with, be it friend or foe.

Eragon was mystified by the source of all that rage, but as he looked deeper into it, he saw that it had no source. The rage was overwhelming in its intensity, but it had no source, and Eragon realized that if left to itself, it would have burned out in a few seconds, but that also meant that the rage was not real, or at least it was not a true emotion, but rather a calculated ploy to defend Mercury's mind against intruders.

By that time Angela had made it to the high-priest, and they had started a mental struggle just between them. Suddenly the high-priest twitched and a smile spread on Angela's face, before she reached for a small dagger with a blade the colour of a red sunset, and leaned down to whisper into the high-priest's ear.

"You should have known my name, tongueless thing. If you had known it, you would have never dared to oppose us, but now I will tell you", she said before her voice got deadly quiet, so that not even Eragon's enhanced hearing could detect anything.

The high-priest loosed a scream, before Angela plunged her dagger into him, which caused him to slowly dissolve into a pile of black powder. Eragon's mind overflowed with questions, which left him to simply stare at the pile of black powder for a minute.

"We ought to go before more soldiers and Murtagh and Thorn arrive", Arya said, and brought Eragon out of his reverie.

"Aye, but don't you think you ought to do something about Mercury first?", Angela said, "in his current condition, he won't last in a fight much longer than a rabbit with a limp against an agile fox".

Eragon looked confused over towards the now sitting Mercury, where he noted that Mercury had a small amount of blood on his chin. It was clear that Mercury had tried to brush it off with his hand, but a small amount had remained.

Mercury, who had detected Eragon's searching gaze, quickly wiped the remaining blood from his chin, cocked an eyebrow and rose in defiance. This however caused Mercury to stiffen slightly, as if trying to conceal a great pain, before he started coughing. Eragon noted that when Mercury was done coughing, his hand and chin were covered in new blood, which meant that the previous blood must also have been coughed up.

Eragon, Arya and Angela all looked sceptically at Mercury, before he finally said, "alright, I may have cracked a few ribs during the explosion, but you should not waste precious energy on me. Not when Murtagh and Thorn and an entire army are right outside. I know I will only be a hindrance in my current condition, so that is why I will stay here and rest for a while before joining you later".

Arya faintly nodded and turned around to leave, but as she did so, Eragon asked something, which had puzzled him for some time now, "Mercury, did you use magic to kill that priest you mentally struggled with?"

Both Arya and Angela turned around with curious faces, as they had both witnessed the event and the absence of any of the Ancient language, which was usually required to perform magic, unless you were willing to risk accidentally killing yourself.

Mercury simply shrugged and said, "that depends on your definition of magic, as all I did was to feed energy to him, much the same as I would a gemstone".

"But how...", Eragon started, but was silenced by a glare from Mercury, which clearly said that now was not the time.

After that Eragon, Arya, Angela and Solembum ventured outside the cathedral and towards the wall.

**Mercury POV  
**Eragon, Arya, Angela and Solembum had just ventured outside the door, when Mercury slumped back onto the bench, which he had previously been sitting in. The action caused a jab of pain from his chest, and he immediately after started to cough up more blood.

_Well, I did not exactly lie to them_, Mercury thought to himself as he studied his bloody hand, _I just did not reveal that one of the broken ribs quite possible has punctured at least one of my lungs and that blood is slowly seeping in, but they did need all the energy they could get, so it would have been foolish to waste it on me before the battle is decided_.

As he thought about his injury, his mind wandered to how he had managed to survive the explosion with only a few broken ribs and a punctured lung. He had known exactly what to do from the second he saw that he was surrounded and that Eragon, Angela, Arya and Wyrden would be far enough away to remain relatively unharmed.

After sheathing his sword to gain time and the use of both of his hands, he had reached behind his back for a pouch of explosive salt and put a fuse into it. He then took a deep breath to calm himself and lit the fuse with magic. He had then drawn out the lit pouch from behind his back and thrown it into the air, while he himself dove towards the ground, while he summoned his magic to make the floor beneath and around him form a protective cocoon around his body.

The energy toll had been great, and he had used up all of his reserves in his dwarven ring and at least a third of his body's stored energy, but it still had not been enough to leave him completely unscathed from the explosion.

After an unknown amount of time he had eventually broken through his cocoon and had discovered that the room was full of the mangled bodies of the guards caught in the explosion. In the tunnel, which he had seen the rest of the group venture into, he had uncovered the body of Wyrden, who he discovered had been killed by arrows with amethyst like arrowheads, despite the many wards Mercury knew he had set around himself.

After that he had quickly redressed as a guard and hidden his equipment and weapons in a safe place beneath a stone, which he remembered had the shape of Sicily carved into it, and had ventured out to find the rest of the group, and if necessary complete the mission if they were dead.

As Mercury's mind wandered, he began to feel slightly drowsy, which he knew was not a good thing, but he eventually succumbed to the drowsiness and drifted off.

He was suddenly awakened by a strange sense of wanting to stand up and walk towards the end of the cathedral main hall. Mercury did not know where this strange wanting stemmed from, but in his clouded mind, he did not resist all too much, and soon started to walk towards the end.

The end of the cathedral was made of the same stone as the rest of the cathedral, but it had marble statues of mythic creatures with missing limbs and other injuries decorating the wall every tenth metre.

As he neared the end, he noticed a strange symbol carved into one of the marble statues, which seemed to look like a griffin standing on its hind legs, but with its upper beak missing, while the symbol was located directly in the middle of the griffin's torso. The symbol was a small square with a slightly smaller square inside of it, but the inner square was twisted, so that its corners were in the centre of one of the outer square's sides and at each corner was a small ball of what looked like fire.

Mercury was startled as he realized, that this square resembled the one he had made on the way to Dras-Leona, the only difference being that there was no colour in this one. Somehow Mercury knew that if he presented his version of the flaming square to the statue, something important would happen. He quickly conjured up his own square and slowly, but determinedly, started to push it against the square in the statue.

As the side of the conjured square touched the marble statue, it met no resistance, so Mercury continued to push it through the statue until it was completely imbedded into the statue. As the last of the square vanished into the statue, the statue glowed with all the colours of the square for a moment, before it apparently came to life and bowed down onto its forelegs, so that it now stood on all four legs.

The back of the statue seemed to ripple for a moment, before it opened and revealed a hidden chamber inside of the statue. Mercury was completely taken aback by the display, but somehow he knew that whatever was inside of the hidden chamber, was worth more than an entire coffer full of diamonds, rubies, emeralds and other gems.

As he turned to look into the hidden chamber, he saw that inside of the chamber was an object, which was covered completely in smooth silky purple fabric, and as he started to reach out towards it, he noticed how the object had a slight oval shape.

He quickly drew the object from the hidden chamber and as a beam of light hit the silky fabric, his curiosity got the best of him, and he started to unravel the object.

What he saw shocked him, because the object seemed to resemble that of a very large egg, but unlike most eggs it did not have a normal surface, but rather a sort of crystalline surface, which seemed to take the beam of light and spread it into all the colours of the rainbow, so that one part of the surface appeared to have a dark green appearance, while another could have a deep red and a third a light yellow colour.

Mercury stared with awe at the egg-crystal for several minutes, before his senses finally caught up with him. He could hear the cathedral roof being trashed by what sounded like two very angry dragons, and as he turned around, he noticed how several tiles of the ceiling had fallen to the floor without him even noticing it.

Mercury quickly covered the egg-crystal in the purple fabric and started to head towards the front door of the cathedral, but was stopped as a large chunk of the ceiling came loose and crashed into the front door, and effectively blocked that exit.

He surveyed the remaining cathedral, but to his dismay, the cathedral had started to crumble around him, and he knew that the roof would give in at any second now. Mercury quickly looked towards his precious cargo and then towards the blocked exits and the crumbling roof, before he crouched on the floor with the egg-crystal held close to his chest and summoned up the remaining of his energy and made the floor of the cathedral engulf him in a protective dome of 50 cm. of stone, which still had several small breathing holes in it, before he passed out due to exhaustion and his wounds.

* * *

Yes, I know some of you are probably thinking I am making Mercury OP by apparently giving him a special egg, but please bear with me for the next few chapters and all shall be explained...well most shall be explained anyway ;)

Oh btw, the battle of Dras-Leona will go according to the book's version, I will be picking up directly after the battle has ended.


	17. Search and rescue

**Search and rescue**

**Eragon POV  
**Eragon and Arya sat slumped against the yellow mudwall of Dras-Leona, they were completely exhausted after fighting through the guards at the gates and then opening said gates, so that the Varden could enter the city. Blödhgarn and the rest of the 10 remaining elves had created a small protective circle around them, while they sat there and regained their strength.

"Do you think Murtagh will do good of his threat and come back to face us?", Arya asked in a tired voice.

"Nay, he would need a large army to even try and take us on, while we are defending from inside Dras-Leona", Eragon said with an equally tired voice.

"I know", Arya said thoughtfully, "but at least he cannot muster such a force with winter on the doorstep. Look the first snow has already fallen", and as she said this, she captured a single ice crystal on her finger, where it melted almost instantly.

"It is beautiful", Eragon said, as he looked up at the sky, where it had just started to snow.

Together Eragon and Arya continued to watch the falling snow in comfortable silence for at least half an hour, before they were interrupted by Blödhgarn's voice, "Shadeslayers, I know that you are both tired and require rest, but Lady Nasuada, Islanzadi Dröttning and the rest of the leaders requests your presence at a meeting regarding the current state of the Varden and their future plans".

Eragon groaned at this, but got up anyway and without thought he extended his hand to help Arya up, despite him knowing that she hated chivalry and was perfectly capable of standing on her own.

Eragon was just about to apologize and retract his hand, but to his surprise Arya took his hand in her good hand and heaved herself up with a small nod in appreciation. What surprised Eragon even more was that once she was up, she did not let go of his hand, but kept it in a strong grip between her fingers.

Eragon noted that Blödhgarn and his remaining elven bodyguards did not appear to act as surprised at their Dröttningu's action, as he would have suspected. _Now that I think about it, have they not been making sure that no one comes near Arya and I, whenever we have a 'sparring match'_, Eragon thought to himself.

Eragon continued to muse about this while he walked towards Nasuada's command pavilion, while still holding Arya's hand in his. Eragon noted that Blödhgarn and the remaining elves made sure that no one on the outside had a good enough view of the Shadeslayers to witness that they were walking hand in hand.

_I think Blödhgarn and the rest of my elven bodyguard knows about us_, Eragon thought to Arya.

Arya did not appear surprised at this, as she answered in her normal voice, _I have suspected as much for several weeks now, but since I have not heard from my mother, I suspect they are helping to keep our secret_.

Blödhgarn interrupted their silent conversation by stopping, turning around and saying, "I do not believe it would be wise for the Dröttning to see you in such a position through a scrying mirror".

Eragon discovered that they had arrived at Nasuada's command pavilion, so he and Arya quickly withdrew their hands from each other, before they walked in through the tent flap, where they saw Islanzadi in her scrying mirror wearing her usual emotionless mask, Nasuada, who along with several of her advisors and King Orrin where discussing something while occasionally pointing at a map of the countryside surrounding Dras-Leona, Nar Garzhvog, who was standing completely stoic in a corner, and finally Orik, who upon seeing Eragon immediately ran forward and gave him a bear hug, while saying, "thank Gûntera, that you are alive and unharmed".

Nasuada redirected her attention from the discussion with her advisors and King Orrin, and looked at Eragon with a grin on her face while saying, "you actually did it", before her tone and attitude changed to one of business, "now that we are all here, it is time we discuss our current situation and our immediate plans for the future. We can wait with the long-term plans for winter until after everyone has rested and our immediate workload has lessened".

Everyone agreed on that, and the meeting continued for many hours after that, until Nasuada finally called a halt to their meeting and said they should dine, and reconvene in the early hours of tomorrow to continue with their work. Arya had left with Blödhgarn during the meeting to have her hand fixed and had come back a few hours before the meeting ended.

As Eragon and Arya exited the tent, they found Blödhgarn and two other elven guards waiting outside. Eragon made a quick sign to have them follow them, and together they made it towards the cooks' tents, where they enjoyed a good solid dinner, consisting of various fruits and vegetables mixed into a stew and served with bread.

As they walked back towards Eragon's tent, Eragon summoned Blödhgarn with a quick wave of his hand and said, "Blödhgarn, could you have one of your elves go and find Mercury and tell him, that I wish to speak with him about what happened under the cathedral? He should be at one of the healing tents getting his injuries checked after, but if he is not, then check his tent and Orik's personal armoury and forge".

"As you wish, Shadeslayer", Blödhgarn said with a small bow before returning to the two other guards and quickly explained the situation to one of them, who immediately disappeared behind some of the tents.

Eragon and Arya quickly made it to Eragon's tent, were they left Blödhgarn and the other guard outside, before they ventured inside and both took a seat; Eragon on his bed and Arya on a chair facing towards the bed. The tent looked like it had done just before they had left, but to Eragon the world seemed different somehow. He knew that people died in wars, but he never expected any of the elves to die in this war, they seemed too powerful and too skilled to be killed by simple human weapons, and he had thought the only way any one of them would die, would be if they went up against Murtagh or Galbatorix.

The queen had not taken the news of the death of one of her most powerful spellcasters very well either, which shocked Eragon as he did not know the queen knew Wyrden very well. At the thought of the queen's reaction, Eragon thought of how Arya had unexpectedly taken his offered hand and kept their fingers intertwined until right before they were to meet with the leaders.

"Arya can I ask you something personal?", Eragon asked tentatively.

Arya looked up from the ground and met Eragon's gaze and said calmly, "of course, Eragon".

Eragon hesitated for a moment before he finally gathered the courage to ask her what had been on his mind, "why did you take my hand and not let go of it until right before we met with your mother and the rest of the leaders?"

Arya let out a sigh, before she let a small smile grace her lips as she spoke, "I needed something comforting to steady myself before we met with Nasuada, my mother and the rest of the leaders. That and the death of Wyrden just reminded me of how precious little time we have left before we have to face Galbatorix".

Eragon was happy that she felt the connection to be comforting, which he showed by extending his hand with his palm upwards and open, while he said, "if you ever have need of anything again, all you have to do is ask".

Arya muttered a small, "thank you", before she hesitantly took his hand in her own now repaired hand.

Eragon looked at their hands for a moment, before he said, "Blödhgarn fixed your hand?"

Arya made a small nod before saying, "yes, but there is still a piece of skin at the root of the thumb, where I have no feeling anymore".

Eragon moved his other hand and with his index finger, he touched a spot of skin at the root of the thumb, while saying, "Here?"

"Here", Arya said and used her other hand to move his hand a little more to the right.

Eragon relished in the fact that she had not let go of his other hand, so that they were now holding both of their hands, but just as he thought it could not get any better, the guard, who Blödhgarn had sent out to search for Mercury, knocked on the tent pole and requested to speak with them.

Eragon and Arya quickly let go of their hands, as Eragon said, "enter", after which the guard entered the tent. Eragon noted that the guard did not bring Mercury as he had requested, but figured he would have a good reason for doing so, so he waited for the guard to speak.

"I have been unable to locate Mercury, Shadeslayer", the guard started, "I looked at the healers' tents, his own tent, the kitchens, Orik's personal forge and armoury and I even asked several of the officers if they had seen where he had went, but none of them have seen Mercury since yesterday".

"That is strange", Eragon said with confusion, "he should at least have checked in with the healers with his injuries".

"If I may ask, where and when did you see him last?", the guard asked.

It was Arya who answered this time, "we last saw him inside the cathedral, right before we ventured down to open the gates. He said he would rest for a while and then join us later".

A thought crossed Eragon's mind, which made him go slightly pale, as he said, "you don't think he was still..."

Arya's eyes widened for a second before she regained a commanding composure, stood up and addressed the guard, who was only beginning to comprehend what they had said, "have Blödhgarn gather the remaining elves so that we can excavate what remains of the cathedral. I will inform Nasuada about our activities, but request that she does not have the Varden participate, as we still have not found Beloth the Wise's belt, and much of the dark magic still lingers there".

"What about me?", Eragon asked.

"You contact Saphira and, if she agrees, have her help us excavate", Arya said, before she strode out of the tent at a brisk pace, quickly followed by the guard, who had brought them the news.

_Saphira, how far away are you from Dras-Leona?_, Eragon thought to Saphira, who by the direction of her conscience was somewhere southeast of his current location.

_I am just returning from my hunting trip_, Saphira said, as she sent him a picture of her flying with a large city directly in front of her, _what has happened?_

_The cathedral, which you and Thorn crashed, might have still contained Mercury, and we need to dig him out swiftly_, Eragon thought with a silent plea streaming across their bond.

_I will meet you there_, Saphira said, and before she cut off the connection, he felt that she changed her direction slightly.

**Time skip**  
Eragon was panting slightly, they had been excavating for the last four hours, where only the first two had been in daylight, and had yet to find anything. Saphira helped with moving large chunks of rock and other debris, which was too heavy for even the twelve combined elves to lift, without unnecessarily overexerting themselves.

"Shadeslayer, perhaps we should call it a night and return in the morning, where there is daylight and you have properly rested", Blödhgarn said to Eragon, while handing him the water skin, which he happily accepted.

"We cannot wait for that long, Blödhgarn", Eragon said between gulps, "last time we saw Mercury, he had some broken ribs and where coughing up blood. The more time we waste the less time he has left".

Blödhgarn nodded and avoided to mention the fact that it would be extremely unlikely for Mercury to survive having a cathedral crashed down upon him, even if he had been at full health, before Blödhgarn resumed excavating in the far end of the cathedral. Eragon was thankful for him not mentioning this, as he still held on to the hope of Mercury still being alive somewhere down under this rubble.

_He has to be alive_, Eragon thought to himself, _I don't want to lose another just because I was not quick enough to save him_.

_Calm yourself, little one_, Saphira soothingly said to him, while sending calming emotions across their bond, _if I have learned one thing from your memories of him, then that is that he has a knack for somehow surviving though situations_.

_Thank you, Saphira_, Eragon thought back, as he sent waves of gratitude and love back across their bond.

Eragon continued labouring for another hour, before an elf told him that Blödhgarn had found something, which he wanted everyone to see. Arya quickly joined him and together they walked towards the far end of the cathedral, where Blödhgarn had been excavating.

Eragon worried over the fact that he had been told that Blödhgarn had found something, not someone, but something. Some of his worries must have shown, as Arya whispered into his ear, "do not worry, Eragon, if Blödhgarn had found Mercury's body, he would have told us so".

Eragon gave a tired smile in appreciation, before they neared Blödhgarn, who was standing next to a large rock, which was at least a metre and a half in diameter and a metre high and seemed to resemble a half sphere. As they got closer, Eragon realized that the rock was way too smooth and too perfectly round to be debris from the roof. Once they were up close, Eragon ignited a werelight to add some extra light, despite Blödhgarn already having one hovering above the rock formation.

As he looked properly at it, he noticed how the rock was the same texture and colour as the floor, which had been cleared in this small area, and that it was not a loose rock, but rather it was like a dome, which seemed to meld into the adjacent floor, so that it looked like the floor had created a small half bubble.

"Although this is indeed an intriguing addition to floor of the cathedral, I do not know why it demands everyone's presence, when we have yet to find Mercury", Arya said in a firm and not unfriendly tone.

"I thought so too, Dröttningu. That is until I took a closer look upon it", Blödhgarn said and signalled them to move over to him, "as you can see here, there are several small holes into the formation, which seems to extend all the way inside, and from what I can tell, it is hollow on the inside", as he demonstrated by knocking on the rock, after which a sort of echo could be heard from inside of it.

"Could something be inside it?", Arya asked with a little curiosity in her voice.

"Or someone?", Eragon interjected with hope in his voice.

Blödhgarn looked at Eragon with a look of sympathy before replying, "I know you want Mercury to be alive, but this stone is definitely crafted by magic..."

"And Mercury is no mage, yes we know that", Arya finished for him, "but let us not just stand here and gossip, but rather open this and find out what is inside".

Blödhgarn gave a small nod, before he told them to stand clear, so that he and all of the remaining elves, which were present, could crack it open.

After discussing the best method to open it for a while, the elves started to chant an enchantment, which simply broke the dome's connection to the adjacent floor and then lifted it up and set it down a little away from where it had been.

Once the dome had been lifted away, Eragon could see what had been inside of it and the sight both shocked him and yet it did not. He could see Mercury, who was still dressed in the guard uniform, which he had stolen, sitting on his knees and crouching with his arms protectively around his stomach, like he had been protecting something from the falling roof.

Eragon wanted to rush over, but Arya held him back as she said, "no, let Blödhgarn do it. He has far more experience in healing than either of us".

Blödhgarn soon came forwards and when he gently shook Mercury's shoulder, Mercury's only response was to roll to the side. Blödhgarn elicited a small gasp shortly after this, and as Eragon moved to Blödhgarn's side, so that he could see Mercury's front, he discovered why: in Mercury's hands were a dragon egg, but unlike any dragon egg Eragon had ever heard of, this one was crystalline in its shell.

Arya, who had just come around, so that she could see what had had astounded the two, elicited a small shriek and unconsciously grabbed Eragon's hand and gave it a squeeze. She soon after composed herself, and reached out to pry the dragon egg away from Mercury's hands, which she did effortlessly as Mercury was fully unconscious.

Blödhgarn then lifted Mercury up into his arms and looked towards Eragon, as he said, "to the healing tents?"

Eragon shook himself out of his awe at the egg, before he nodded towards Blödhgarn and said, "Aye, but make sure he gets a tent for himself, as we have many questions for him and do not want to be disturbed or overheard. I will join you shortly and hear about his condition, as soon as we have made arrangements for the security of the egg ", Eragon then paused and looked at everyone of the gathered elves, "I hope I do not need to remind you to keep this discovery quiet, as we do not want Galbatorix to learn about this egg, so that he could steal or destroy it".

Everyone nodded and immediately swore in the Ancient language to not reveal anything about what had happened, unless permitted by Eragon. Half the elves then went with Blödhgarn and the other half, along with Eragon, formed a protective circle around Arya, who was still cradling the egg, where Eragon was in the front of the circle and Saphira walked behind the group, but her eyes never left the egg.

After waking Glaedr, explaining to him about the egg and having him stand guard over it along with Saphira and four other elves with specific instructions not to let ANYONE inside the tent without either Eragon or Arya with them, while the egg rested in Eragon's tent, Eragon and Arya then walked over to the healing tents, where Blödhgarn had procured a solitary tent away from the rest, where he had stationed two of his elves as guards outside the tent opening.

Eragon gave a small nod to the guards, after which they opened the tent and let him inside, where he was met by Blödhgarn, who was standing over a cot with the still unconscious Mercury on it.

"How is he?", Eragon asked.

"I have stabilized him and have healed most of his external and internal wounds", Blödhgarn said, "but you said that he had only broken a few ribs by the time you left him, correct?"

"Aye, why?", Eragon asked confused.

"Well, I had to heal a punctured lung, which I also had to empty of some of his blood", Blödhgarn started, "but the injury appears to have happened at the same time as the rest of his injuries".

"Are you saying he had a punctured lung this whole time without knowing it?", Arya asked in a sceptical voice.

"No, he would have had to have known about it, it would have greatly impaired his ability to breathe, not to mention the pain he must have been in", Blödhgarn said with a slight bit of admiration in his voice, "I am actually surprised he made it to the surface at all".

As Eragon heard how Mercury had been lying about his condition, he got angry at Mercury and himself. Mercury for not revealing the true extent of his injuries to him and himself for not seeing it, but he was interrupted in his stream of thought by Blödhgarn's voice, "also, as I told you earlier, the dome must have been made with magic, and since we have not discovered anyone else near Mercury..."

As Blödhgarn said this, Eragon remembered how Mercury had killed a priest, but brushed it off as simply transferring energy to him, and he wondered whether this had been a lie as well, because if it was, then Mercury was able to use magic and had neglected to tell anyone about this. _He also did not inform anyone about the Black Hand's mental attacks on him in Feinster_, Eragon thought to himself, as he started to get more angry at the apparently many vital secrets, which Mercury seemed to keep.

"He will have a lot to answer for when he wakes", Eragon said in a partly tired partly irritated voice.

* * *

Anyone wants to be in Mercury's shoes right now? I am sure it is going to be a fun wake up for Mercury...well I already know what is going to happen, but you do not...yet.


	18. No more secrets

**No more secrets**

**Mercury POV  
**Mercury was beginning to wake, he felt like he should probably sleep a few hours more, but something inside of him told him, he had slept enough already. As his senses started returning, he noticed he was lying on a cot with a blanket and a pillow, and not in his sleeping bag on his sleeping mat. He was puzzled by this for a moment, but his still waking brain had yet to properly start working, and as he slowly opened his eyes, he noted that it was far too light for where he remembered he had placed his tent, as he had placed it in the shade of a large oak tree.

_Where am I?_, Mercury thought to himself, and as the thought had crossed his mind, he suddenly remembered what had happened in the cathedral.

Mercury immediately fully opened his eyes and began to sit up, he noted that the motion did not provoke a pain in his chest, and as he prodded his chest with his fingers and took a few long and deep breaths, he concluded that he must have been healed of his broken ribs and punctured lung.

After the prodding, he started to look around at the tent he was in: the tent was small, but still slightly larger than his own tent, and judging by the specific colour of the canvas, it belonged to the healers of the Varden. The only furniture inside of it was the cot, which he was still sitting on, a chair next to the cot, which had a set of his clothes on it, and a small table with a water jug and a cup.

As he saw the change of clothes on the chair, he noticed how he was still wearing the guard uniform, which he had taken from one of the dead guards of the church of Tosks, and immediately felt thankful for whoever had left the clothes, as the uniform still had a lot of blood, gore and some other stuff, which he was not entirely certain where it came from, on it. He quickly disrobed from the uniform, but he kept the pieces gathered and neatly folded, as he did not know whether it could come in handy later, and dressed in the fresh clothes. He noted how none of his weapons were there with him, but then remembered that he had hidden them in the tunnels.

_I wonder how long I was out?_, Mercury mused to himself, and started to sniff his own body odour, _judging by this I cannot have been out for more than a day, unless someone has bathed me, but then that person would have changed my clothes, so probably just a day_.

Mercury then started to feel hungry and so very thirsty, like he had inhaled dust for an entire day, so he quickly went over to the water jug and poured himself a cup of water, downed it in one gulp and then poured him another, which he drank slightly slower. Despite still feeling very thirsty, he did not pour himself a new cup of water, as he reasoned that he could only absorb about a litre of water per hour, and it did not work if he just drank it all at the start of the hour, so he instead decided to get some food and then have another cup of water with the food, so that he could spread out his water intake.

Mercury began to head towards the tent opening, where he noticed a shadow on the canvas. The shadow was that of a high person, which seemed to stand completely still at the tent opening and Mercury thought he could make out a sword at the side of the shadow.

_Hmm, when have I required guards at my tent?_, Mercury mused to himself, as he poked his head out of the tent opening to see who it was. It turned out to be the elf Yaela who stood guard outside, and as she noticed his questioning look, she turned to face him. Mercury had in the mean time moved his entire body through the tent opening, so that she would not just have a conversation with a floating head.

"When have I been given elven guards?", Mercury asked in a slightly amused voice, he thought it funny, how he was suddenly important enough to need guards, or he was now a high enough risk to need to be guarded by elves, the two options seemed equally amusing and unlikely to him.

"I am here under Eragon Shadeslayer's command", Yaela said in the typical emotionless voice of the elves, "you have been under guard only throughout the night and morning".

_Well, that confirms my assumption of how much time has passed_, Mercury thought to himself, before a slight gnawing made him remember why he had ventured out.

"Alright then, I will just be leaving now, you may follow me if that is your orders", Mercury stated and immediately started to walk away from the tent, but he was stopped by a strong hand gripping his arm.

"My orders are to ensure that no one enters your tent without the permission of Eragon Shadeslayer or Arya Dröttningu, and to make sure that you do not leave this tent", Yaela said in a firm and commanding voice, which led Mercury to believe, she would fulfil her orders to keep him there with force, if he resisted.

Mercury thought it best not to unnecessarily provoke the elf, so he decided to comply and return to his tent, but before he entered it, he asked Yaela, who was still keeping him under firm observation, "can I by any chance get some food in the mean time?".

"I will contact the kitchens and have them send you some," Yaela said to Mercury, before he entered the tent yet again.

As Mercury sat down on the chair, he stared to think about why Eragon's orders had been to keep both others out and Mercury in. _Well, let us just sum up all possible reasons, he could have to do so_, Mercury mused to himself, _there is the most likely one: the egg-crystal-thing, which I found, then there is the creation of the dome, which saved me, which would no doubt raise a few questions. There is also the possibility that they have discovered an assassin with orders to kill me, but have yet to apprehend him, but I doubt I am important enough for the Black Hand to single me out like this, as I made sure to not take credit for anything, which I have done and therefore should not represent a target to them...besides there is still the agreement to consider. Let me see what other options have I missed_...

Mercury's musings was interrupted by a maid, which brought him a platter with some fruit, bread and cheese, which he thanked her for, before she disappeared out of his tent, and he started to eat.

After finishing eating, he began to get slightly restless, as he really did not have anything to do in the tent. He most of all wanted to go down into the tunnels and retrieve his equipment, but anything constructive would have sufficed at this point. It was not that Mercury did not know how to relax and simply not do anything, but he did not like it when it was forced upon him, and especially when he knew there was still work to be done. _Hmm, I bet I could sneak out through the back_, Mercury started thinking, _but it might not be a good idea to not be here if they arrive in the time, which I am gone_.

Soon after this Eragon entered the tent, followed by Arya, who was now cradling the egg-crystal in her hands, while she had concealed its surface under the purple fabric, and finally Blödhgarn entered as the last, but as soon as he had entered, he started to chant some spell, which Mercury had no idea what did, but it did not seem to do anything noticeable.

Mercury noted that Arya and Blödhgarn wore impassive masks, while Eragon had a slightly tired attitude and also a slightly irritated look on his face, like something or someone was bothering him, and Mercury quickly guessed that he might not be in high favour at the moment, although he did not exactly see the reason why.

"It is safe to speak, Shadeslayer", Blödhgarn stated to Eragon.

"Good", Eragon simply spoke, before he sent a look towards Arya, who immediately after removed the fabric from the egg-crystal and put it on the table.

Eragon then directed his attention towards Mercury and said in a not unfriendly, but certainly not friendly either, tone, "you have some explaining to do".

_Hmm, I wonder how much he knows, and how much he wants to know_, Mercury warily thought to himself, _I better ascertain how much he wants to know, so that I know what I need to tell him and what I do not need to tell him_.

"Where should I start?", Mercury asked Eragon, while looking directly at him with a calculating look on his face.

"You can start by telling us, why you never mentioned that you had had mental attacks in Feinster, and after that I want to know why you were found in a magically created dome of rock, while holding a dragon egg", Eragon said in an slightly frustrated tone.

"I never mentioned the mental attacks in Feinster, because I was able to defend against them, and I found a way to diminish them", Mercury said, while looking Eragon directly in the eye, "not to mention that I did not want to burden you further, as you already had much on your plate".

"You still should have told us", Eragon grumbled.

"It happened in the past, and it never came up or became important for the Varden's cause, so I never mentioned it", Mercury said nonchalantly, "besides there is much, which I do not tell you, so why should this be important", _bloody hell, I did not mean to say that out loud_, Mercury quickly scolded to himself after saying the unintended statement out loud.

"That is just it", Eragon exclaimed angrily, "you keep so many vital secrets to yourself, secrets that could be important for the Varden's cause, that I do not know whether I should trust you".

Mercury took a deep breath, before he calmly said, "have I ever lied to you?"

Eragon seemed to gather his thoughts on this new topic, before he said, "you lied about how hurt you were in the cathedral and you said that you did not use magic on that priest, but merely transferred energy to him, and yet we find you in a magically created dome with no one else near you".

Mercury responded in a semi-amused voice, "those were not lies. In the cathedral I merely told you some of the truth about my health, as I knew you would have wasted precious energy on healing me, if you had known, and I did just transfer energy to that priest, I merely directed the energy at the priest's heart, so that it would run faster and eventually give out, which it then did".

Eragon seemed to think about his answer, but Arya, who was much more adept in ascertaining what people tried not to say, quickly said, "but you never told us about how you ended up in the dome, or how you survived the explosion in the tunnels".

_Hmm, this would have been so much easier if it had been just Eragon_, Mercury mused to himself, _oh well, perhaps it is for the best to just tell them now, instead of facing their wrath if they found out I had been keeping this a secret even now_..._or I could show them the same way Eragon showed me, but with a twist._

A small grin spread on Mercury's face, before he stood up, which captivated the attention of the gathered, and extended his right arm with his palm upwards and open. He then started to reach out for the magic, which he knew resided in him, while concentrating on what he wanted it to do.

Mercury quickly took a deep breath, but instead of him exhaling just air, he mixed some yellow and orange flames into his breath, which sped towards his open palm. As the flames sped towards the palm, they condensed into the shape of a small dragon, which would roughly be half the size of his outstretched palm. The dragon then flew two circles above his palm, before it landed and sent out a small jet of flame, after which Mercury willed it to disappear again.

As Mercury looked up, he noticed the expressions of his audience: Eragon looked dumbstruck, and perhaps had a little bit of fear in his eyes, Blödhgarn appeared to stare at Mercury's still outstretched hand with an intensity, which worried him a bit, and lastly there was Arya, Arya's only reaction had been to widen her eyes in shock, but to Mercury she might as well have been shouting her surprise.

"What, it was not that impressive a feat of magic", Mercury said nervously, their reactions had seriously unnerved him.

"You...you did not use the Ancient language", it had been Blödhgarn, who was the first to say something.

"No, why should I?", Mercury asked confused.

Arya seemed to awaken from her daze, "because it is the language of truth and magic. That is why all spellcasters use it to direct their magic whenever they perform magic".

"Oh, I thought it was just the language of truth", Mercury said somewhat surprised, before a thought struck him, "so, are you saying that I should not be able to use magic without this language?"

"No, if you truly understand what magic is, then you can use it without the ancient language", Blödhgarn stated, "but it is very dangerous as a single stray thought could change what you wanted to do, and that change could very well kill you".

This new information did not disturb Mercury greatly, as he had already run into that particular problem before and had already dealt with it.

"If we assume that you used magic to save yourself in the tunnels and from the collapsing cathedral", Arya said in a calm voice, to which Mercury simply nodded, "then you have yet to tell us how you ended up with the dragon egg".

Mercury thought about how he would tell them what had happened. He was sure he should leave out the bit about the magical lock and the mysterious desire to go to the end of the cathedral and the part about how he had known exactly what to do, because they would either think him crazy or compromised, if he told anyone about this, which was not what he could afford at the moment. _Besides, if the 'being' had not woken me, I would have been crushed under the roof, so it cannot be all that malevolent_, Mercury added to himself.

Mercury looked around at the gathered, before he started his tale, "after you left, I started to explore the far end of the cathedral for various important magical artefacts and other things, which would could benefit the Varden, and as I did so I came across a griffin statue, which had a secret compartment in the back, where I found the egg, which I did not know was a dragon egg at the time, but by the time I began to move out of the cathedral, some debris had blocked the exit and the roof was collapsing around me, so I tried to save myself and the egg with the same piece of magic, which I used to save myself from the explosion in the tunnels".

After completing the tale, Eragon seemed to come to life again, as he said in an angry and tired voice, "this is exactly what I was talking about earlier, you keep vital secrets to yourself, secrets which you should have shared with us. You should have told us about your magic the minute you discovered you had it, which was when exactly or have you known for all the time you were here?"

Mercury began to get very angry at Eragon's assumptions and accusations, so he said in a strong and firm voice, "first of all, I only discovered it a couple of days after my wager against Orik, and second of all", the next part was said in a slightly more challenging voice, "why should I have to share all of my secrets with you, Eragon Shadeslayer? What makes you so special that you feel you have the privilege of demanding others to share their secrets with you? You say that I keep vital secrets to myself, and yet you keep even more vital secrets to yourself, secrets which I have never once asked you about. For example, I know that if you merely told some of the magicians in Du Vrangr Gata, what you learned about magic in Ellesméra, then they would be much stronger against the empire, and I know that you have someone or something very important buried under that patch of dirt in your tent, which you often talk to, at least I hope you have someone, because if not then the Varden's only dragon rider have lost his grip on sanity. I furthermore know that that spectator, which wanted me to fight against one of your elven bodyguards, is either a dragon of immense power or something closely related to it, and yet I never once asked you about any of these secrets, despite the fact that Galbatorix would surely know of them, given his dragon rider past. Hell, you did not even tell your own liege lord or your bodyguards about your relationship with Arya, despite that it would greatly affect their protection of you, Blödhgarn had to figure it out on his own", and as he said his name, Mercury quickly directed his attention towards Blödhgarn and said in a calm voice, "sorry, for involving you in this, Blödhgarn", before he redirected his attention back to Eragon and continued in his previous voice, "so tell me again, why should I divulge all of my secrets to you, when you reserve the right to keep your own?"

"This is not about that", Eragon defensively said.

"This is exactly about that", Mercury almost yelled at Eragon, "I know that I would not have given it a second thought, if I had to expose my magic if I had no other way out or could somehow save you or the Varden by it, but until then I never saw the reason to let everyone know, as it works much better if the enemy does not know what to expect from you, and I know you feel the same about your secrets, so tell me again, why do you have the right to keep your secrets ,when I do not?".

Before Eragon had time to respond, a high squeaking sound permeated the tent. Everyone immediately fell quiet, and as Eragon, Arya and Blödhgarn directed their attention towards the dragon egg on the table, Mercury surmised that the sound must have originated from the egg, so he chose to direct his attention there as well. The egg soon started to wobble and not long after a single crack occurred on the crystalline surface, which was quickly followed by another and then another...

* * *

Well I figured this fight would occur eventually, as the different personalities of Mercury and Eragon would eventually clash, and since Mercury has been keeping a lot of secrets from Eragon, Eragon would not exactly be thrilled about that.

Oh, and the dragon hatches, so get ready to view the first description of it. I guarantee that none of you have never seen anything like it, well Restrained. Freedom has heard about it, but let us not go into detail about that.


	19. A new dragon

Hi I am currently on a small holiday in a lodge in Sweden, where the internet connection is rocky at best, so any reviews and pm's might be answered a bit late and I might publish the chapters on a different time of the day than usual, but fear not, because I will publish them.

* * *

**A new dragon**

**Eragon POV  
**Eragon watched entranced as the dragon hatchling emerged from its egg. To Eragon it brought back memories of Saphira's hatching, memories he greatly cherished, despite the event turning his life upside down.

The dragon hatchling had yellow-orange coloured scales like a beautiful sunrise, but its talons, spikes and teeth were as white as ivory. The dragon's head was a slightly sharper triangle shape, than Saphira's had been, and its eyes were not the yellow-orange colour of its scales, like Eragon had expected them to be, but rather a dull grey set of orbs. Its wings were translucent like the crystalline build of the egg, which made them appear as more of distortions in the air.

The dragon looked around at the assembled people with a curious and investigating look until its eyes fell upon Mercury, where they seemed to linger. The dragon started to nervously move towards Mercury, who still stood next to the cot. Everyone watched with awe as it moved ever closer to him, while occasionally squeaking and throwing its head around to look at the others.

While the dragon moved towards him, Mercury's eyes widened and his face bore an expression of shock, fascination and perhaps a little bit of fear, although he tried to hide it. The dragon extended its wings and while flapping them down, it jumped forwards towards Mercury, like a cat jumping to catch a mouse, Mercury immediately jumped back in surprise. The two were now no more than half a metre from each other and after overcoming his first shock, Mercury crouched down, so that he was on eyelevel with the small dragon.

The dragon made a squeaking sound, as it warily continued to move forward. Mercury started to extend his right hand to pet the dragon's head, but then hesitated and looked toward Eragon for confirmation, which he got in the form of a dazed nod, after which he slowly lowered his hand and let the dragon sniff it for a moment. After sniffing the hand for a moment or two, the dragon started to slightly purr, which was all the confirmation Mercury seemed to need to move his hand towards the side the dragon's head.

The next few seconds happened so fast, that Eragon half thought only a fraction of a second had gone by, because right when Mercury's hand was about to stroke the dragon's head, the dragon got a mischievous look in its tiny grey eyes, while its scales momentarily flashed towards a slightly more yellow colour than they had been before, but Eragon assumed it must have been a trick of the light or something similar, and before Mercury or anyone else had time to react, the dragon snaked its head around and bit into Mercury's outstretched palm, which in course made Mercury retract his hand and jump back in surprise and pain.

There had been no flash of silver between the dragon and Mercury, and the only mark Mercury had gotten on his palm was a tiny set of teeth marks. The teeth marks were not that deep and in fact they seemed to hardly even have drawn blood from Mercury's hand, but they were still visible to everyone.

_He likes you_, Saphira, who had been observing the meeting and then the hatching through Eragon, mentally said to everyone.

Mercury got a confused look on his face, as he said, "he bit me".

Saphira's response was mixed with mirth, and Eragon could hear her rumbling laughter from outside the tent, _only playfully_.

Eragon's elven hearing could only slightly hear Mercury grumbling, "bloody dragon, it acts just like the cat I used to have", before he directed his attention towards the gathered group and in a normal voice said, "so, what does this mean, do we need to find his rider somewhere in the Varden camp or...?"

Eragon straightened up, as he said, "it means that the dragon egg was not a bonded dragon egg, but rather a wild dragon egg, so he will not have a rider".

The small dragon started to howl slightly, which, Eragon found out from Saphira, was because he was hungry, but what he did not expect was that as it started to howl, his scales changed from the yellow-orange colour they had been and into a more purple coloured kind of scales, and this time Eragon knew it could not be a trick of the light, as the change was too great to simply be the light.

"How did he...", Arya said behind him, while Blödhgarn said, "did he just...", and Mercury simply said, "did anyone else see that?".

The dragon was greatly surprised by the sudden outbursts, and Eragon believed he saw fear in its eyes, as he changed the colour of his scales to a green-brown colour, which Eragon thought would be an excellent colour if one wished to hide on the ground in most of Alagaësia, before the dragon backed towards the cot and eventually fled under it.

_I think you scared him, little one_, Saphira said to Eragon.

Eragon bent down and looked under the cot, where the dragon immediately turned towards him and barred his teeth as a warning. Eragon tried to act calmly and get the small dragon to come out, but he merely stayed under the cot.

"Any ideas?", Eragon asked the group in the hope that perhaps Arya or Blödhgarn would have a suggestion, as they had much more experience with wild dragons than him.

"Hmm, I might have one", Mercury said to Eragon's surprise, before he quickly went out of the tent and after a short while, he came back with a dead pigeon in his hands.

Mercury immediately pulled one wing off, and gently tossed it under the cot, but not quite all the way to the small dragon. The dragon looked at the wing for a moment, and Eragon thought he could see the scales change to a mixture between their current colour and the previous purple colour, before he moved slightly forward and started to eat the wing. As the wing was quite small, the dragon was soon done eating it, and as he finished, Mercury tore off the other wing and gently tossed it, so that it was near the edge of the cot, which the small dragon then ventured forward and ate.

As the dragon finished the second wing, Mercury pushed the main body of the pigeon forwards, so that it was halfway between the group, who all sat on their knees and watched the dragon with great intensity, and the cot. The dragon seemed to hesitate for a second, before his scales changed completely to the purple colour they had had before, and then he ventured out towards the dead pigeon and began to eat it.

After finishing eating the pigeon, the dragon's scales changed towards the yellow-orange they had had in the beginning, but with a bit more orange in the colour this time, and he cautiously moved forward towards the small group, who still sat completely still.

The dragon eventually made it to the group, where he softly began to purr again, as he puffed towards Eragon's hand. Eragon quickly began to scratch him at exactly the spot, which he knew Saphira liked to be scratched at, and he was rewarded with a small humming sound from the dragon.

"How did you know what to do? There has been no dragons in your world for countless millennia", Eragon asked Mercury, who was still keeping a safe distance from the dragon, while Eragon still stroked the dragon's back.

"I had a cat, which often hid under my bed when it was scared or just wanted to hide", Mercury started saying, as he cautiously moved forward towards the dragon, "I used to draw it out by bribing it with food".

_Did you just compare a mighty and powerful dragon to a feline?_, Saphira said in a mock angry voice, where only Eragon knew Saphira well enough to know she was not that angry, as she had a great admiration for cats, werecats in particular.

"No...but in my defence, that cat was extremely smart", Mercury nervously said, "it figured out how to open the doors, unlock the cat flap and somehow catch a prey three times its size".

"Anyway, should we not try and figure out what to do about this dragon instead", Mercury said in a clear attempt to change the conversation, "I mean, it would be quite bad if Galbatorix found out about him, he would probably try and have him assassinated, and even if he did not succeed, he would still be aware of his existence and come up with a countermeasure against him".

"I agree", Arya said, "the dragon must be kept a secret, both for his own survival's sake, and because if he chooses to fight with us in Urû'baen, then we would have the advantage of surprise against the mad king".

"Good, I propose that only the leaders and other people essential to his wellbeing will be told about him and only if they agree to take a vow in the Ancient language not to speak of him, unless permitted by Eragon, Saphira or the dragon himself, once he grows up enough to understand it", Mercury said, while he slowly patted the dragon's head, but while still keeping an eye on the dragon, before he added, "oh, and the same should of course count for us".

Right as he said this, the small dragon playfully snapped at his fingers, but because he had kept an eye on it this time, he managed to retract his hand in time, while he joyfully said, "not this time".

Everyone quickly agreed upon Mercury's proposal and immediately took the necessary vows, before they called a meeting with the rest of the leaders, where they had them swear themselves to secrecy before finally revealing the new dragon to them. On the way to and from the leaders, they had hidden the small dragon in a blanket and tucked him under one of Saphira's wings. No need to say that the small dragon had been thrilled to see Saphira, in fact he would not stop squeaking and humming, so they had to use a silencing spell around him, so that others would not notice the noise.

**Time skip(one week later)  
**It had been one week since the dragon's hatching and the Varden had in the meantime moved into Dras-Leona and were stocking in supplies for the winter. Eragon had consulted Glaedr about the young dragon's changing scale colours, and the old dragon had said that, the young dragon was a normal dragon, if any dragon could truly be called normal, and that the only difference was his scales and wings.

Glaedr told Eragon that although the small dragon always appeared to have colour in his scales, they were actually as translucent and colourless as the egg had been. The scales somehow bended the light, which it received and reflected it back out, so that it appeared as if the scales had a specific colour. Glaedr also told Eragon that as the dragon got older, it would eventually start being able to control which colour it wanted to show, even to the point of eventually controlling the colour of each scale separately, but that until then the colour of the scales would be dependent upon the mood of the dragon: green-brown for hiding, orange for when it would want affection, yellow for curiosity, purple for hunger and many more.

Eragon had asked Glaedr, why it had never been part of his education, and Glaedr had answered that since the type of dragon was extremely rare, 2-3 per millennia at the height of the dragon population, and that none of the current known eggs in existence had been of that type, they had not seen it as an important enough topic given the time restraint on his education.

In the week that had passed, Eragon had also searched through the ruins of the cathedral for Beloth the Wise's belt, but had not found it yet. Eragon had noticed that on the first day after Mercury's recovery, he had immediately went towards the tunnels under Dras-Leona, probably to retrieve his armour and weapons, and that when he had come back up again, he had looked very irritated and had cursed slightly.

Eragon had asked Mercury what was the matter, to which Mercury had responded that he had lost five of his shurikens in the tunnels, which he now had to replace, but Eragon thought he had seen a slight glimmer of something else in Mercury's eyes, something he had come to recognize as the look Mercury got whenever he had gotten a new idea, but he had not asked about it, as the memory of their last encounter about privacy was still fresh in Eragon's mind.

As Eragon thought of Mercury, he remembered how the small dragon had taken a sort of liking to him or at the very least his hand, although the dragon still preferred to be near Eragon and Arya, but Eragon guessed that was because Saphira was almost always with them.

They had so far managed to keep the existence of the dragon hidden, even without having to confine the small dragon to a room too much. Eragon knew that the credit for that would have to go to Mercury, as it was him, which had been put in charge of organizing the dragon's time out, so that no member of the Varden accidentally discovered it. Eragon and Arya had recommended him at the first meeting about the future of the dragon, although they had neglected to tell why they knew he was good at these sorts of things, and Mercury had accepted the role and carried it out with an almost alarming efficiency, like he had done these sort of things his whole life.

Eragon was currently sitting alongside Arya in a meeting of the leaders and other important people to the dragon's survival, which he had been told would regard the future of the dragon.

"Mercury, has requested this meeting and will now tell us why he has done so?", Nasuada spoke and gave the signal for Mercury to stand up.

Mercury stood and looked around the gathered, before he said, "I have requested this meeting to bring out a topic, which I believe we must decide upon now, rather than before it actually becomes a problem".

"What is the problem of which you speak?", Islanzadi said from the scrying mirror.

"The problem is simple, my lady", Mercury said to the queen, before he addressed everyone, "from what I have read and consulted about with Eragon and the other elves, this dragon will soon grow exponentially, and when he does, it will be near impossible to keep him hidden in Dras-Leona. His size alone will make him hard to conceal, traces of him will be everywhere and he will no doubt not be particularly happy about being confined to restricted areas of the city or the few acres of surrounding countryside, which we could manage to isolate and guard without drawing too much attention".

"We could move him to Du Weldenvarden", Islanzadi said from the mirror, "he would be safe there and no elf would ever betray his secret".

Before anyone could say anything, Mercury raised his hand to indicate that he wanted to speak, which Nasuada allowed him with a wave of her hand, "I would not recommend moving him to Du Weldenvarden. I have no doubt that he would be safe with the elves, but the way to Du Weldenvarden will run across much territory and many smaller cities and settlements, which are currently still under imperial control".

"How about we move it back to Surda and let it grow there?", King Orrin rose and spoke.

At King Orrin's suggestion, Mercury again raised his hand and Nasuada again allowed him to speak with a small nod, "I would not recommend moving him to Surda either, as the empire has even more spies there than they have here".

"Are you accusing my nation of being corrupt and a supporter of the empire?", King Orrin said with anger and venom in his voice, Eragon had learned the hard way that King Orrin had a loose temper, especially when he had been drinking.

Mercury merely looked into the king's eyes, as if he was nothing more than an angry child, which Eragon would have found almost suicidal, before he said, "I do not accuse your entire population of being corrupt, but some surely are, and even if it is only a fraction of the population, they will still eventually hear the rumours of a dragon in the countryside, which will no doubt spread if the dragon is anywhere near any populated areas, and when they do, they will inform Galbatorix of him, and that is out of the question".

King Orrin grumbling sat down, while he said in an irritated and mocking voice, "why do you not propose something then, as you seem to be so good at finding flaws in our generous offers".

Eragon could see a small smile on Mercury's lips, before he quickly quenched it, and in his usual voice said, "I do have a proposal, which would be simple and effective. We simply move him away from all populated territories and cities. I recommend the small uninhabited stretches of land between the Beor-mountains and the Hadarac-desert, along with perhaps the land between the Âz Ragni river along with the Edda river and the Hadarac-desert. There he would be able to grow, hunt and otherwise roam the world as he wishes, but still be kept far away from any prying ears or eyes".

"The idea is sound, but how would we move him and the forces needed to guard him there, without drawing attention to ourselves, and how would we provide food for them without supply trains?", Nasuada said in a calm and collected voice, which neither showed that she fully supported or opposed the idea yet.

"I suggest we sail across the Leona-lake already during the next few days, then go into the Spine and follow it down south until we are halfway between Belatona and Feinster, then we move east across the countryside towards Melian, but instead of going to Melian, we go under the forest near Melian, and then we head straight for the middle of Tüdosten, which we shall then sail across and start moving east towards the most northern parts of the Beor-mountains", Mercury said, as he procured a map and showed everyone the intended route, before he continued with the second question, "an in regards to troops protecting the dragon, I would not recommend using any regular troops and battalions, but rather have one or two trustworthy and capable people, which the dragon should preferable like, and most importantly they would have to be someone the empire would not notice is gone, escort and follow the dragon, as they would be able to procure food enough from their surroundings, instead of relying upon having it bought or delivered".

Everyone agreed upon the suggested route and idea of not having a guard battalion follow the dragon, but when the question came to who they wanted to travel with the dragon, the room fell quiet, that is until Mercury again requested to speak and then said, "we can start by eliminating potential candidates. Eragon, Arya and every other elf here in Dras-Leona would not do, as someone would clearly notice either of their absences. Islanzadi cannot get new elves to Dras-Leona fast enough to make the trip", and at this he looked questioningly at Islanzadi, who merely nodded and signalled for him to proceed, "that leaves us with only the human and urgalgra population, as I do not believe the dwarves would be capable or willing to make the trip with the required speed, no offense Orik".

"None taken, Mercury", Orik quickly said, "and I believe you are correct in assuming that the dwarves would not be suited for this mission".

"I would not recommend an urgalgra for this mission, although it would surely bring us great honour," Nar Garzhvog said, "an urgalgra would be too easily identified and hunted if a stray traveller saw them".

"That only leaves us with the human population then", Nasuada said, before she directed her attention towards Mercury and said, "do you have any recommendations, Mercury? You seem to have already considered and planned most of this anyway".

Mercury dipped his head in appreciation of her praise, but then said with a casual voice, "I have no recommendations, as I do not know many of the humans in the Varden. In this matter I would rather trust in your own, Eragon's, Arya's or even Roran Stronghammer's opinion, and that is why, since I have nothing further to add to this topic, that I request to leave this meeting and direct my attention back towards my task of keeping the dragon a secret before he leaves Dras-Leona, as there is still much to do".

And with that he said his farewells to the leaders and quietly exited through the back door of the room. After Mercury left, Eragon spent the next two or three hours discussing and throwing candidates away, until a majority of the people at the meeting finally decided upon one which fitted all of the criteria put forth by Mercury.

Eragon then headed towards Mercury's work room in the Dras-Leona keep, where Mercury had been organizing every single outing of the dragon, since he had hatched. As he walked in, he found Mercury sitting behind a desk, hunched over a stack of papers with an even greater stack next to it, and a quill in his right hand, which he had been using to write on a sheet of parchment.

Mercury looked up from his work and tiredly smiled at Eragon, as he entered, while he said, "do you have any idea of how much work it takes to 'accidentally' clear the southern part of Dras-Leona and the surrounding countryside for soldiers, patrols, caravans and other people for a single day?"

Eragon chuckled for a moment, before he said, "no, but it seems you do. What are you writing by the way?"

"Changes in guard plans, delays to caravans and supply trains and rotations in the fishing permits, but none of them will have any direct effect on clearing the area for the day. They will instead cause new changes, which will then clear the area, and make sure that no one suspects we are involved in the clearing, as we did not order a single of these changes".

"Sounds complicated", Eragon chuckled, as he snatched one of the upper documents and began to read it. It contained the time plan for a small fishing company in Dras-Leona.

"It is", Mercury grumbled, "I am really not paid enough for this".

"We pay you?", Eragon asked with a cocked eyebrow and a little bit of mirth mixing into his voice.

"No, it is just an expression from that other world", Mercury said with a small laughter, "anyway, why are you here? Did you finally decide who to send with the dragon?"

"Aye, I just came to tell you, so that you could prepare and plan for it", Eragon said, while he laid the time plan atop the stack, which he had taken it from.

"Well, spit it out, who is it?", Mercury said, while he absentmindedly scratched his temple with the quill, which left ink on his temple, while he continued to search through yet another scroll about guard rotations.

Eragon chuckled for a bit, before he said, "I am speaking to him right now", which made Mercury push the quill so hard against his temple that the tip of the quill cracked, after which he looked up with wide eyes and said, "Say what!"

* * *

This was kind of a long chapter, and that is after I divided it up into two separate chapters, as I originally intended for this and the next chapter to be in the same chapter, but now I am actually quite happy that I did not, as I have just noticed something by accident. My story will be 31 chapters long, or maybe a chapter or two more depending on whether I need to divide some chapters in order to make sense of it, and the 10th chapter signalled the beginning of a new journey for Mercury in this story, the 20th chapter shall again signal a new part of his journey, so without even meaning to I have in sense divided my chapters up into exactly thirds, which correspond with the primary three stages of Mercury's journey through this story.

Actually by the time you read this, I will have just finished the 27th chapter, so I guess I will know by then whether it truly is just 31 or more chapters.


	20. Departure

**Departure**

**Mercury POV  
**It was the afternoon the day after Mercury had been appointed guardian of the young dragon, and he was currently walking through the streets of Dras-Leona. He had spent the morning gathering and reading books about the flora and fauna of Alagaësia, so that he would be able to gather food, use the plants for various healing mixtures and salves, and to know how to behave around the different animals.

He had spent noon on acquiring a boat to cross Leona-lake, a horse to ride upon during the 5 month trip, packing his needed belongings and some initial supplies, and lastly learning about early dragon adolescence and behaviour from Saphira and Eragon.

He had been stopped in his preparations by the presence of a cat, which he had later learned was actually a werecat, as it had contacted him mentally and told him to follow it, which he had then did, because he had learned from many of the books, which he had read, that if a werecat gave you an advice, you better not treat it carelessly. The werecat had not informed him of its name, gender or even their destination, even though Mercury had asked on several occasions.

While following the werecat through Dras-Leona, Mercury's mind began to slightly drift towards the impending 5 month trip. Mercury had not planned on spending winter wandering around the wilderness and babysitting a dragon. He had instead planned to use winter on several projects of his; his most prominent one was to visit the apparently very large library of Dras-Leona, but he had also planned on using it to freshen up his dwarvish lessons and perhaps even start on learning the Ancient language, as it would be nice to sometimes have words to describe what you wanted the magic to do, instead of having to wrap your head around every aspect of the action, which you were about to take.

Another of his winter projects would have been to make new shurikens with Orik, along with their new side-project, which they had agreed not to inform either Eragon or the other elves about, as it might incur their wrath and make them destroy it. Orik had agreed with Mercury that although this might not do very much to anything to Galbatorix, it could still be a great asset against other powerful spellcasters and other important targets, so they had decided to make it for the common good of the Varden, and then face eventual consequences if the battle was won.

Mercury had full confidence in that Orik would be able to finish the project on his own, along with keeping it a secret, but he had still wanted to be a part of the process and to view the end result before they had to march to Urû'baen.

Mercury was not angry for going on this trip, as he knew that many in the Varden would have given their right hand for the honour of doing so, although Mercury was probably one of the few people who realized that no honour would ever be publically given to them, as the only way they would be honoured was if the final battle was won, and if the final battle was won, their task of guarding the dragon for 5 months would be swept aside by the achievement of Galbatorix's killing.

Another reason Mercury did not mind the trip was that he knew that if this dragon reached maturity and was successful in being kept a secret, then the odds of the Varden would be much higher, so all in all Mercury did not mind the trip at all; it just was not how he had expected to spend winter, as he had not expected to be chosen as the guardian.

It was not that he was not able to see why they had chosen him, because with the removal of the elves and Eragon as the possible caretakers of the young dragon, their choices were rather limited. He knew that he had displayed the ability to survive, adapt and overcome most obstacles and events, which would ensure that they knew he was capable of surviving and defending the young dragon, and that his skill at keeping the dragon a secret along with his planning of the entire trip had shown them that he was capable of maintaining secrecy and planning for it in ahead. He also knew that the knowledge that he was capable of magic, although none other than Eragon, Arya, Blödhgarn and probably Islanzadi and Nasuada knew of his magic, would be weighing in his favour.

Mercury was driven out of his reverie by suddenly stopping in front of a door, which he knew belonged to the witch Angela and therefore the werecat would have to be Solembum. Although initially hesitant he still knocked on the door and was soon invited in by a slightly surprised Angela.

_I guess Solembum did not tell her about my coming here either_, Mercury thought to himself before he took an offered seat and started to watch the witch, who seemed to have a mental conversation with the werecat.

Before long she looked up at him with a slightly changed attitude, although Mercury could not exactly point out how it was different, and said, "he says that I should read your future".

_Read my future, yeah right she can do that_, Mercury thought to himself and some of his disbelief must have shown on his face, because the moment later she said in a slightly insulted voice, "I will let you know that my futures ALWAYS come true, although not always in the way people believe, and that I have never been wrong so far. If you want testament to that, you could ask Eragon if most of his has not already come true".

_Hmm, could she be right? Can she really depict the future?_, Mercury mused to himself, _she said that most of Eragon's prophecy has come true, and that combined with her not charging for it, and that Solembum, a werecat, wanted me to have it done, indicates that she might actually be able to do so_.

"I feel I must warn you though", Angela said and effectively snapped Mercury out of his musings, "it is not always if ever a pleasant experience to have ones future told to you, and you might not like what will be foretold".

This information sent Mercury out into a deeper inner discussion, _hmm, she told me that it might not be a pleasant experience to have ones future told to you, and perhaps I will not like what I am being told. I wonder if I would have the same future as if I was not told, as you would no doubt try and either help the prophecy along or try and deny it, which in any case might just lead to the fulfilment of the prophecy, so that the prophecy would never have happened, had I not been told about it._

In the middle of his continued musings about self-fulfilling prophecies, a part of him, the part which usually kept him sane amidst his crumbling view on his own life and the world in general, cut through his thoughts and in a strong inner voice said, _Enough! It is quite simple: by refusing to hear about the future, you cower in fear for it, and if it is going to happen whether you hear about it or not, then you might as well learn about it in advance, so that you can plan ahead for it. For example if you know that no matter what you do, you will be stabbed at a specific day and place, then you can prepare for that by having medical aid nearby in advance, which you could not if you had feared the future and never heard about it_.

After having finally agreed with himself, Mercury looked up at Angela and said, "tell me".

Angela nodded and quickly drew a pouch from under her clothes. As she opened the pouch, bones poured out from it, all of which had small symbols carved on them, and she quickly collected the bones in both her hands and started to whisper something, which Mercury could not hear, before she loudly said, "Manin! Wyrda! Hugin!", and threw the bones down upon the table, so that some clustered together in small groups and others lay alone on the outskirts.

Angela studied the bones for several minutes, occasionally giving a small frown or sigh before she quenched it just as abruptly as it had come. Mercury tried to study the different bones and the small symbols on the bones, but his best guess was that the crow bone lying on bone with the star with a circle around it meant that someone pretty important would die, as the crow was a carrion bird and a star usually symbolized someone important, although he had no idea where the circle fitted in.

Angela finished her studying with a heavy sigh, which Mercury did not exactly believe meant that it went well, and while she talked about his future, unbidden thoughts would occasionally spring into Mercury's head, "although it is not the hardest future to read, which I have seen, it is certainly among the grimmest", _great, that never bodes well for an early start_.

"I think I will start here", she said and moved to one of the lone bones in the outskirts, which had a rock surrounded by smaller rocks as its symbol, "this bone and its placement here shows me that you will live most of your life in either solitude or with very few friends, although if we move to this bone over here, it shows that you will also live much of your life surrounded by people, so I must assume that together they show that you will live most of your life among the people, but you will be alone or almost alone among them", _I think I can manage that, it should not be too hard_.

"However these bones here give a confusing meaning to me", Angela said and touched another group of bones, "you can see the sword bone rested with the tip towards the bone with the candle and the hilt towards the bone with the hourglass. The sword shows that you must confront and overcome something, and when the tip is pointed towards the candle and the hilt is pointed towards the hourglass, it can only mean one thing: in order to move towards the future, you must confront the past", _confront the past, how can one confront the past? Perhaps she means confront something of the past, which would make more sense and still be accurate_.

She then moved towards four bones lying on each other, and as she eyed them, her face took a sad demeanour. The bones were a thunderbolt, a road splitting in two, a symbol which was comprised of an inner circle and an outer circle, and finally a rock, which looked like it could tip to either side at any moment.

"Here is the two-parted road, the thunder bolt, the circle within a circle and the balancing rock", she said slightly sadly, "the two-parted road means that a very important decision lies in your near future, and the balancing rock resting on the start of the road means that your decision will impact the lives of maybe the entirety of Alagaësia. Unfortunately for you here lies the thunderbolt on both ends of the two-parted road, which means that a curse lies upon you no matter what you chose. I see the curse being one of great and terrifying pain, anguish, sorrow and misery, which will also be the governing factors of most of your life, but from the circle within the circle I can see that the source of all of that will depend upon your decision, where one will give it to you from an external source and one from an internal source, but I am afraid that I do not know which will give which and there is no way to avoid this. I am sorry", Mercury's eyes widened for a second and he stiffened, but other than that he showed no signs of being distraught by the news.

"But then as if to counteract this, here lies the crow and the life star", Angela said and moved to the only one, which Mercury had guessed at what meaning it could possibly have, "the life star with the crow on top means that in the not so distant future, your life-force will cease to exist, so your pain will at the very least be short-lived, if that can ever be called a blessing", Angela finished her reading and grabbed a nearby wine-sack, which she promptly offered to Mercury.

Mercury refused the drink, as he had no intentions of trying to control his raging thoughts and emotions with alcohol, especially when he would depart as soon as darkness fell. He instead thanked the witch for the reading and as he walked through the door, he heard Angela say, "again I am sorry that I could not bring you better news", before he closed it without answering her back.

He immediately started to walk aimlessly throughout Dras-Leona, while he processed what he had been told. _If she had only brought me some more details about what would happen, then I would not mind the bad news as much, but this I cannot plan for, I cannot prepare for and I probably won't even know that it has happened until after it already has. Yes, perhaps it would be best to simply let go of the future for now, and then worry about it when it becomes important_. And with that final thought, Mercury pushed all thoughts and memories of the reading to the back of his head.

By the time Mercury had finally gotten his mind under control, it had begun to darken and he knew that in only a few hours, he would be expected at the shore shortly outside Dras-Leona, where he had arranged for the boat with the horse to be located.

He immediately headed to the keep's kitchens to have what would probably be his last proper meal in 5 months, and when he got there, he was thrilled at what he saw, because the course of the day turned out to be stuffed tenderloin with potatoes and some vegetables. It was almost as if the chefs somehow knew that he was going away for 5 months and wanted him to have the best meal possible before he left, but that would be impossible, because no one could know about it.

After eating his dinner, he ventured out towards the northern city gates. They would close soon and he did not intend to have to explain to the guards why he needed to pass, so he quickened his pace. Once outside he walked a fair distance north, before he vanished into the darkness, headed east for a short while and then doubled back south, so that if anyone would ask where he had went, the guards would say he went north.

Soon he made it to a small set of bushes, where he had hidden his backpack earlier in the day. After retrieving the backpack and fitting it, he moved closer to where he was supposed to meet Eragon in an hour or two. He stopped and hid a little away from the rendezvous point, where he waited for an hour, before he heard the subtle beat of Saphira's wings.

Mercury waited until Saphira had landed and the two figures had gotten off with their precious bundle, before he stepped out of the shadows and greeted them. Eragon and Arya greeted him back, and as their precious bundle unbundled, and the young dragon, which currently had a mixture of green and orange scales, peeped out his head.

Mercury extended his right hand to pet the young dragon's head, and as had become his habit, the young dragon snapped playfully at it, before he finally let Mercury stroke his head. The young dragon was not yet old enough to fully understand why he was being taken away, but Saphira had managed to convey the message that he was going away for a while and that neither Eragon, Arya, Blödhgarn or Saphira would be able to see him for a long while, and that Mercury would be there to protect and care for him during that period.

"You will take care of him", Arya said in a way that in no way showed that she was asking a question, while she said her farewells to the small dragon, who was still in Eragon's arms.

"Of course I will, even if I had not promised in the Ancient language that I would", Mercury said with a small nod, before he gently removed the young dragon from Eragon's arms.

"How about you?", Eragon asked Mercury and looked up from the young dragon, which he had been saying his farewells to, "you have almost said no word since you were chosen as guardian".

"I have talked a lot since then", Mercury said with a cocked eyebrow and a questioning voice.

"All you did was to talk with the various leaders, take the oaths and make arranges for your sudden departure", Eragon said slightly accusingly, "you never once told anyone about how you were feeling about this".

Mercury let out a small laugh, as he said, "how I feel? I feel completely fine".

"Really, so why did you aimlessly wander around Dras-Leona this evening?", Arya said in a slightly accusing yet also caring voice.

"I had something else on my mind, which I needed to take care of, but it had nothing to do with this, I swear", Mercury said with a voice, which seemed to convince the two, "I would however like to impose one final security measure, which also it seems strangely captures my frame of mind right now".

"How so?", Eragon asked with curiosity in her voice.

"If I ever approach you without the dragon during the 5 months or sometime immediately after", Mercury started, "then you will know whether it is truly me, by my first action when I see you, which will be to sing the song, which I am about to sing to you know. Tell no one of it".

And with that Mercury started to sing:

Home is behind, the world ahead  
And there are many paths to tread  
Through shadow, to the edge of night  
Until the stars are all alight

Mist and shadow  
Cloud and shade  
All shall Fade  
All shall fade

Mercury looked up and even in the dim moonlight; he could still see their shocked expressions.

"That was beautiful", Arya said, "when did you compose that?"

Mercury chuckled for a bit, before he said, "I did not. In my world it is a part of a movie, a piece of fiction, and I never once imagined that I would ever find my life to be described by a song like this".

Without waiting for an answer, Mercury lowered himself and the young dragon into the boat, where the horse, which he had acquired earlier, was sleeping an enchanted sleep, but before he could sail into the darkness of the night, Eragon shouted to him, "wait, I forgot to tell you something".

Intrigued by this new and apparently important information, Mercury got out of the boat, but left the dragon in it, and made to stand directly in front of Eragon and Arya with an intrigued look on his face.

"I thought I should tell you as well", Eragon started, "Arya and I are leaving for Vroengard soon after the snow is heavy enough to disrupt any army movements. We have already been allowed to do so by Nasuada and the rest of the leaders".

"Vroengard?", Mercury asked with a slightly raised eyebrow, "what do think you might find there?"

It was Arya who answered this time, "we hope to find the solution to a riddle once given to Eragon by a werecat".

Mercury understood their wish not to disclose any more information, and instead said in a questioning voice, "does Blödhgarn know of this, and if he does, has he said anything to you yet?"

Eragon answered in a slightly surprised voice, "yes, he does and he has, but how did you know?"

"We arranged it, so that he would be the one to tell you when the time was right, as I would not be able to", Mercury said in his usual voice, before continuing in a questioning voice, "and he has mentioned that given your new travel plans, it would be better to tell the elven queen about your relationship in person, rather than in a scrying mirror as we had first intended?"

"He has", Arya answered in a slightly strained voice.

"Good", Mercury said more to himself than to Eragon and Arya, before he looked upon them again and said, "the hour grows late and I need to go...goodbye".

And with that final goodbye, Mercury again lowered himself into the small boat with the young now sleeping dragon, and began to row out into the darkness of the night, where he soon faded from view.


	21. A request to a queen

**A request to a queen**

**Mercury POV  
**It had been 4 months and a week since Mercury had left the Varden with the young dragon, and they were currently travelling near Marna, while the sun was starting to set, after having went north towards Du Weldenvarden at the eastern plains and then travelled west at the unsettled land between the Hadarac desert and Du Weldenvarden.

The only time Mercury had encountered any sort of sentient life, besides the dragon he was guarding, was when a raiding party of bandits and slavers had tried to ambush them near the Beor-mountains. Although quite a few of the raiders had tried to escape their unsuccessful raid, and a few had even begged for mercy while trying to surrender, Mercury had left none alive.

Mercury' clothing had become ragged and used during the months, and he had since grown a wild looking full beard, which he had only done because he had lost his shaving kit a couple of months into the trip. His ragged clothing, wild full beard, the grime and dirt which clung to his skin, and his usage of a wooden walking cane made him look like he was an old and tired wanderer and not the young 21 year old man he really was, and to add insult to injury then his beloved watch had broken down as well.

All in all, the entire trip had been rather interesting to say the least. They had been forced to kill the horse, which Mercury had brought along from Dras-Leona, during one of the early winter months to have something to eat. After that Mercury' meals had become more...different, and he now knew that snake did not taste particularly bad, just...strange, whereas crickets tasted almost like chicken if you did not think about it. The dragon had of course been able to hunt, but sometimes the prey were scarce and there had only been enough to keep the dragon sufficiently fed, so Mercury had chosen to dig into his books on the fauna and flora and then eat what was at least edible.

Mercury looked up into the sky and frowned at what he saw: a royal purple dragon soaring at a low altitude. He had eventually learned to control the colour of his scales as a whole, but had yet to even attempt at making sections of his body into different colours, but his current control did come in handy when you wanted to hide a large dragon far enough up in the sky or on the ground.

_Hatchling, how many times have I told you not to fly so low if you want to remain unseen, and especially with that colour. Are you specifically trying to get discovered by Galbatorix?_, Mercury thought to the dragon, who dived towards Mercury, while emitting a small growl and barring his teeth.

Mercury kept his stance and did not even flinch when the dragon landed directly in front of him with his teeth mere centimetres from Mercury' head.

_Would you just call me by my name instead of hatchling, it is demeaning to a mighty dragon_, the dragon mentally responded in an annoyed voice, before he in a calmer voice said, _besides we are not near any settlements and I did not see any travellers while I was up there._

_You are still hatchling to me, at least until you stop acting like it, then and only then I might consider calling you by your chosen name of Kilgharrah_, Mercury responded in a slightly amused voice, as it was a conversation they had had many times, before he continued in a more serious voice, _did you spot any deer or other wild animals while you were up there?_

_Yes, they tasted rather delicious_, Kilgharrah responded in a gleeful and slightly mocking voice.

_Good thing, I found this rabbit then_, Mercury said and drew a freshly caught rabbit out from his backpack, before he said in a mock hurt voice, _and to think I was going to ask you whether I should cook this for you and eat insects again, but since you have already had your fill.._.

_You can have it_, Kilgharrah said, _I do not understand how you can survive eating only plants, reptiles and grubs._

_They contain a lot of protein and other nourishments_, Mercury said while chuckling at Kilgharrah' 'generosity', _but I guess that is something a big and mighty dragon will not learn to simply live on, so that is why you always gets first pick on whatever meat is available_.

Kilgharrah began to hum at the compliment and eventually lied down near the campfire, which Mercury was currently building. After finishing stabling the wood, skinning, gutting and seasoning the rabbit, Mercury gently bent down to the small stack of wood and gently blew at the centre of the wood, where he had arranged for the small twigs and branches to be. He then let some flames mix into his breath, so that it looked like he was blowing a small gentle stream of flames at the wood, which quickly ignited and build into a proper fire, which he then started to roast the rabbit over.

Mercury had initially begun with spewing flames, because it had been the far most efficient way to start a fire, because of the small and controlled flames, which it provided when he blew gently, like he was blowing on an ember, but now it had just turned into a sort of habit, so whenever he would need fire for something, whether it was to simply light the dark with a ball of fire in his palm or to scare something off, he would always start the fire by spewing the flames at the place he wanted them to be and then contain them there.

After eating his dinner and throwing the last log on the fire, Mercury made to sit next to Kilgharrah' head and started to absentmindedly scratch a spot, which he had discovered Kilgharrah liked very much to be scratched at. Kilgharrah began to hum a deep and content hum, while they watched the last of the fire die out.

_I have been thinking about something_, Mercury said to Kilgharrah in a thoughtful voice, _how would you like it if we stayed near Gilead for a couple of weeks, and then we could fly towards Dras-Leona in time to regroup with the Varden? You would of course need to have Saphira' blue scales on the way, so that if anyone against expectations sees you, they will assume that it is just Eragon and Saphira._

_What have made you consider this?_, Kilgharrah asked in a curious voice, before he said in a mock angry voice, _and what do you mean by 'we could fly', because I do not exactly see you riding on my back on the way there_.

_No, but you could carry me in your talons if we are about to be late, like we have done before, although that is not particularly pleasant, _Mercury said and slightly shuddered at the memory, before he continued, _and the reason for my saying so is that I would like to visit Gilead and see the elf queen and the elves in general_.

_That should not take more than a few days, why would you need a couple of weeks to do that?_, Kilgharrah asked confused.

_I do not plan on using my real name or my title as your guardian to get an audience with the queen, as I want to watch how the elves treat regular humans_, Mercury answered.

_Then how exactly do you want to get an audience with the two-legs-pointy-ears' queen?_, Kilgharrah said, while he lazily eyed him with one of his great grey eyes.

_By being patient_, Mercury said, before he in a jesting voice, and with a small smile on his lips, said, _perhaps you could learn something from it_.

Kilgharrah tried to start growling, but Mercury's continued scratching made it impossible to do so, so he settled with blowing a small cloud of smoke into the face of Mercury, which made Mercury cough and laugh at the same time, before they both shortly after went to sleep.

The next morning Mercury was getting ready to walk to the gates of Gilead, while Kilgharrah would stay behind and explore the surroundings, but right before Mercury started to leave, he turned around and looked at Kilgharrah with a stern look while saying, _and I can trust you not to reveal yourself to some unlucky farmer or traveller, and to only be high in the sky or camouflaged on the ground?_

_Yes, hen mother_, Kilgharrah said with the dragon equivalent of a sigh, _but what do you mean by unlucky farmer or traveller? Anyone who sees my splendour should count themselves lucky_.

_Good, I needed to hear you say that_, Mercury said with a small sigh of relief, before he said in a serious tone, _and I meant they would be unlucky, because if anyone saw you, I would have to track them down and kill them, before they could tell anyone_.

After that exchange of thoughts, Kilgharrah launched himself into the air, while his scales took on a grey colour, which fitted with the grey clouds above, and Mercury immediately after started walking towards Gilead.

When Mercury reached Gilead he noted how the front gate was guarded by two elf sentries on the ground and several sentries patrolling on the wall. Mercury had already decided to leave his sword and all his other weapons and possessions at the agreed hidden campsite, which Kilgharrah had found while flying around, but he did still have his walking cane and a small dagger, which was hidden on his person.

When he finally reached the first of the sentries at the gate, the sentry reached for his sword, while he shouted in a beautiful and musical voice, "Who goes there? State thy business and thy name".

Mercury quickly decided to adopt an old Irish accent, but just when he was about to answer the sentry, he found that he could not speak, which made his head look like a confused fish, and that combined with his clothing and wild beard, made him look like a crazy hermit to the sentries.

The reason for Mercury's inability to speak, was that he had not spoken out loud in more than 4 months, and that had left him momentarily forgetting how to speak. He tried several times to form sentences, but every time they came out, they sounded distorted and unrecognizable, which made the normally composed elves look warily at him.

Finally his mouth seemed to remember how to speak, and he was able to start talking, although it was hesitantly and certainly not in his usually composed voice or in the Irish accent, which he had tried to adopt, "My...my name is Ensom...Ensom Vandrer...my business is to request an audience with the...que...queen of the elven people. I have travelled long and for many months with neither men nor women for company".

The sentries stopped looking at him like he was a crazy person, but remained with a stoic and emotionless expression, while the first sentry said, "the queen does not have time at the moment to give audiences to every visitor, who wants to see her".

"I see", Mercury said, "then I shall wait for her majesty to have the time, but can you please tell me where I might buy some provisions, as my own have run out and it is difficult to hunt near a major city?"

"I would not recommend waiting, as the queen is very busy and will not have time anytime soon", the sentry said, "but I believe you might buy some provisions from the marketplace in Gilead, although it will mostly be fruits and vegetables".

"A fruit would indeed be a sight for sore eyes after so many months in the wilderness", Mercury said thankfully, before adding, "and you will come to learn that I am a very patient man".

Mercury then entered the city and went to the marketplace, where he, with the money he had salvaged from the dead raiders, bought supplies of fruits and vegetables for several days. While he was walking down a narrow alley, a thief tried to steal his gold, but Mercury grabbed his wrist, and as he looked at the thief, Mercury started to growl menacingly, which surprised both the thief and Mercury, so much that Mercury let go of the thief's wrist and the thief immediately after ran away.

Mercury looked at the direction, which the thief had run at, for a few seconds, while he thought about why he had started growling. _I have been spending way too much time with Kilgharrah as my only company_, Mercury ended up concluding.

After that incident, Mercury headed out to the gate, where he sat down close to it and started to meditate. The sentries shifted during Mercury's meditation, and after a quick explanation to the new sentries, as to why he was here, Mercury resumed his mediation. When dusk finally fell, Mercury had not spoken a single word to the new sentries, besides the initial conversation, and he started to rise up and leave for the agreed campsite, where he hoped Kilgharrah would be waiting, and that he would not have to track someone down and kill them.

When he arrived back at the hidden campsite, he found Kilgharrah to be waiting for him, and after Mercury had eaten some of his provisions, Kilgharrah asked what Mercury had been doing so far. Mercury then showed Kilgharrah his memories of the day, which Kilgharrah found to be a boring day, and when Mercury asked about what Kilgharrah had been doing, he said that he had been flying over the lake Isenstar, and that no boats had been visible, but that he had retained his grey scales as a precaution, which Mercury awarded with some scratching.

_It would be so much easier if you just let me drop you into the keep of Gilead_, Kilgharrah said in a tempting voice, _the queen of two-legs-pointy-ears would know that you should be granted the audience, and none of the elves would ever tell about me to the mad-black-egg-breaker-king_.

_The elves might not, but Gilead is not an elven city, but an occupied human city, and therefore Galbatorix would have lots of spies in there_, Mercury responded tiredly, _besides, if I can show you that patience sometimes pays off, then it would be well worth it, even if I have to spend three weeks sitting in front of that gate_.

_I am sufficiently patient_, Kilgharrah said defiantly.

_The most patient you have ever been, was when you waited for half an hour to get a deer out of a cave, so that you could catch it_, Mercury said with a small grin.

_I am a dragon, we are creatures of action, not waiting_, Kilgharrah responded.

_Well if you want proof that patience can pay off, then just look at yourself_, Mercury said and directed his attention to one of Kilgharrah's great grey eyes, _you are a wild dragon, and from what I learned from Saphira, not many wild dragons ever knew how to communicate in words and sentences, but I still managed to teach you to do so, although it took a great amount of patience to do so_.

_Yes, yes, can we just go to sleep, before you decide to teach me more of that two-legs stuff_, Kilgharrah tiredly said, as he yawned.

_But I thought you liked that_, Mercury said in a mock hurt voice, _besides, we would not be here if I had not tried to teach you to read a map, where you then decided that you wanted to see all of it_.

_I had already seen the Spine, most of the southern two-leg-country, the Beor-mountains and the eastern plains at that time, so why should I not see the great-forest-of-two-legs-pointy-ears and the Hadarac desert?_

_Yeah, I should have never shown you that map_, Mercury said with amusement in his voice, _who would have known that you could be so persistent_.

Kilgharrah started to rumble with laughter as he said, _any dragon could have told you that_.

After that, they both lied down to sleep, and when dawn came, Mercury headed back to the gate, where he greeted a new set of sentries, before he resumed his position near the gates and waited until dusk fell, where he once again returned to the hidden camp.

It continued like that for two weeks, where Mercury noted that there were a total of 6 different sets of sentries with three shift rotations per day. The sentries would occasionally ask Mercury questions, and he would then ask them questions, and in the process he came to learn each and every one of their names.

The sentries would often try to dissuade Mercury from his attempt at getting an audience, but Mercury always simply stated that he would wait until the queen had time. Mercury noted that the sentries started to treat him with some slight admiration and respect, which he suspected was because he had demonstrated a patience typical for elves, but not for most humans.

Some humans of Gilead had at a time tried to mock and taunt Mercury, but Mercury had simply ignored them, and when they tried to physically torment him, the sentries would do their duty and make them stop.

During the end of the two weeks, one of the sentries by the name of Laurali had told Mercury that the sentries had not even informed the queen about his request yet, so there was no reason to keep sitting there, but Mercury had simply said that then he would just have to wait until they told her, and then wait until she found the time.

**Laurali POV  
**Laurali was walking towards the queen's meeting hall in the Gilead keep. He had just finished his shift, where the strange Ensom Vandrer had continued to simply sit and wait outside the gate, despite being told numerous times that his quest was a futile one.

Laurali along with most of the other sentries had actually become slightly impressed by the human's patience, as it was very rare for a human to be content with simply waiting for two weeks for an audience, without constantly trying to improve their chances of getting it or making the request again and again.

_Humans really are a strange breed_, Laurali thought to himself, _sometimes they are as impatient as a squirrel looking for acorns to store for the winter, and sometimes they can be as patient as an elf or as stubborn as a dwarf_.

Laurali quickly reached the meeting chambers, where the queen sat with her closest advisers, and after the initial greeting, Laurali spoke, _"_**My queen, there has been a human requesting an audience with you**".

Queen Islanzadi looked up and met the sentry's eyes, which unnerved him a little, but he did not let it show, as she said in a clear but cold voice, "**I am too busy for every human, who wants to meet me. Why have you brought me this request?**"

Laurali lowered his head a tiny bit, as he responded, "**the sentries thought so as well, but he made the request two weeks ago, and since then he has simply been sitting in front of our gate and waited, despite our numerous attempts to dissuade him. He has not spoken to us unless spoken to, and he only ever leaves the gate at dusk or when he buys more supplies in the market, but he always returns in the early morning hours**".

"**I see**", queen Islanzadi said with a bit of curiosity in her voice, "**such patience is rare among humans. Tell this human that he shall have his audience tomorrow at noon, for I have grown curious as to know what his motivations behind the audience are**".

With that queen Islanzadi dismissed Laurali, and he quickly went down to tell Ensom Vandrer, who simply thanked Laurali for informing him with a traditional human bow, before he disappeared into the direction, which he always walked to at every dusk.

* * *

I never actually wanted to write chapters about what happened in the wilderness, as I find it more entertaining and far less boring to simply make small hints and references here and there.


	22. Meeting a queen

**Meeting a queen**

**Mercury POV  
**It was the noon after Mercury had been granted the audience with the queen of the elves. He had tried to teach Kilgharrah how his patience had paid off, but Kilgharrah had as usual barely listened. He was currently walking towards the throne room of the Gilead keep, where his audience with Islanzadi was supposed to be.

Mercury was still clad in the ragged clothing and walking like he supported himself with the wooden cane in his right hand. His beard had been somewhat combed to not look as wild as it had first appeared, but he still looked like an old and tired hermit, which was exactly what he wanted to look like, as he was confident that Islanzadi would not recognize him as such.

Laurali was walking in front of him, to escort him to the throne room, but he had said that he would not follow him inside, as he had other duties to tend to. Mercury and Laurali continued to walk in silence through the hallways of the Gilead keep, which to Mercury appeared more as prison walls than a royal keep. The hallways were sparsely lit by torches and there was no tapestry or even paint covering the grey rocks, which made up the walls.

Finally they arrived at the massive doorway to the throne room, but unlike the keeps of Dras-Leona, Belatona or Feinster, this doorway did not have any intricate carvings or paintings on it. This doorway was made of thick wood covered with heavy iron bars, so that it looked more like a gate than a doorway to a throne room, but Mercury was not all too surprised at this, as it fitted very well with the very military design of the rest of the keep and Gilead in general.

"Are you ready?", Laurali asked, as they stood before the massive doorway.

Mercury took a deep breath and nodded towards Laurali, who then knocked three times on the doorway, which shortly after swung open to reveal the throne room. Mercury calmly walked in through the doorway and immediately took in the entire throne room.

The throne room was wide enough for at least 50 soldiers to stand shoulder by shoulder and at least 100 metres long. The ceiling was perhaps 10-15 metres in the air and there was no light, except from the light which emanated from the floor, and Mercury noted that it had several beams stretching across it, which would be perfect to place archers on, but the elves had not placed anyone there. The first 10 metres of the floor were flat, but then the floor turned into stairs, which extended to at least 20 metres from the back of the throne room, and elevated the floor there by at least 5 metres. The last 20 metres of the throne room were again completely flat except for the dais in the back where the two thrones stood, although only one was occupied.

After taking in the throne room itself, Mercury's attention fell upon the people in it: Islanzadi sat upon one of the thrones, looking very regal with her blue and red velvet cape around her shoulders, her diadem and her beautiful tunic, which had the colour of a sunset at its prime. Around the room stood several very regal and proud looking elves, which Mercury guessed to be the nobles and advisers of Islanzadi, and lastly there were the two guards at the doorway, who were wearing tight fitting armour with leaves decorating their amour, while they were holding deadly, but extremely beautiful looking, spears.

Upon noticing that the only guards present were the two at the doorway, which did not seem to follow Mercury as he slowly ascended the stairs, Mercury began to silently get very annoyed at the elves' lack of security. As he continued to ascend the stairs, he silently used magic to pick up a grain of dust from the ground beside Islanzadi, and launch it at a very high speed towards the head of the queen of elves to test whether they had at least protected her with wards, but to his fury, they had not, so he only just managed to stop the grain before it actually hit her in the head, none of this was however noticed by any of the elves present.

Mercury's fury was now almost at a breaking point, as it had started to accumulate when they did not even search his body for weapons upon entry to the keep, which meant that he still had a dagger hidden upon his person, and it only increased upon the notice of the lack of guards and wards, despite the elves knowing nothing about the stranger, despite the fake name Mercury had given them.

_They are far too arrogant in their own powers and abilities_, Mercury angrily thought to himself, as he finally finished ascending the stairs and started kneeling 20 metres in front of Islanzadi's throne, _they did not check whether or not I could do magic or even search me for weapons, and their complete lack of security means that if I had been an enemy assassin, then I would have been perfectly capable of killing their leader right now. Kilgharrah is not going to like this, but I need to make them upgrade their security, else they might actually lose their queen and that would be catastrophic for the war effort_.

"Rise", Islanzadi said, and as she did so, Mercury obeyed, but he had already decided everything that would happen after that.

He silently reached for his magic and made protections around his ears and skin and closed his eyes, immediately before he used his magic to form a shockwave of extreme light and sound around him, which completely fried the elves' sensitive senses for several seconds. During the commotion, Mercury launched himself into the air and grabbed on to the beams in the ceiling, where he could hide for a moment, while he concentrated on forming an image of himself running out through the still open doorway.

The elves quickly recovered from the ordeal, and upon seeing the image of Mercury running out of the doorway, Islanzadi yelled something in the Ancient language with great fury in her voice, but Mercury did not understand what she said.

The two guards at the door and most of the nobles gathered, quickly scurried out after the image, which had by then disappeared, and thereby left Islanzadi almost alone in the throne room. Mercury slowly and quietly brought forth his dagger and moved from beam to beam towards the thrones, where Islanzadi once again sat. After positioning himself on the beam directly behind the throne, where Islanzadi sat, Mercury dropped down behind it without making as much as a whistle in the air, and quickly brought his dagger to Islanzadi's throat, so that its tip pressed slightly into her throat.

"You should never let your security be so sloppy in a time of war, your MAJESTY", Mercury whispered to the stunned elf queen's ear, before he withdrew his dagger from her throat and dropped it on the ground. Quicker than Mercury's eyes could follow, Islanzadi turned around and grabbed Mercury by the throat and then threw him against the back wall, so that his feet were several centimetres above the ground, while she had an enormous amount of fury and shock displayed on her usually so calm face.

"You will be incarcerated for your insolence", Islanzadi hissed, before shouting, "GUARDS! Bring him to the dungeons and let no one talk to him".

**Time skip(three days later)**  
It had been a few days since Mercury's incarceration in the dungeons of Gilead, and as the queen had ordered, none had talked to him since then. Mercury was confident that given enough time, he would be able to convince the queen that he had only helped the elves, and since he had at least two and a half weeks until him and Kilgharrah had to be leaving for Dras-Leona, he thought that he might have time enough to get the queen to release him and clean up whatever mesh Kilgharrah would surely have made in the meantime, but it would not work if the queen did not start showing up, so that he could actually speak to her.

Mercury had not found it particularly strange that Kilgharrah had not contacted him since they last separated three days ago, as Kilgharrah often liked to disobey Mercury's instructions to return to a specific point at a specific time, which had more often than not forced Mercury to abandon his sleep and go out searching for Kilgharrah. Mercury was in fact rather happy that Kilgharrah had not contacted him, as that would mean that he would be way too close to Gilead.

It was then that Mercury felt the now familiar conscience of Kilgharrah reaching out towards him. Mercury quickly lowered some of his shields to let Kilgharrah in, so that they could communicate.

_Why are you underground, and why did you not show up at the campsite last night?_, Kilgharrah asked.

_What do you mean last night? I have been here for three nights now, so where were you?_, Mercury said to try and turn the conversation around, but Kilgharrah had spent too much time with Mercury to fall for that.

_I am a free wild dragon and do what I please, but you still have not answered me about why you are underground or why you were not at the campsite_, Kilgharrah mentally said in a scolding voice.

_I...may...have attacked the queen of the elves and threatened her life_, Mercury hesitantly said, _but before you say anything, it was for her own good, because I merely exposed the weaknesses in her security_.

_I am sure she saw it that way_, Kilgharrah said clearly amused, and Mercury thought he could hear rumbling laughter as well.

_Enough about why I am here,_ Mercury quickly said, _where are you and why are you here? You better not have revealed yourself to the city_.

_There is the hen mother again, I sort of wondered when she would return_, Kilgharrah mockingly said before adding, _relax, I am flying above the city and is completely in colour with the sky here_.

_Good, now why are you here?_, Mercury asked, clearly pleased with Kilgharrah not having exposed himself.

_I wanted to see when you would be back_, Kilgharrah answered.

_Did the free wild dragon miss my company or did it stop being fun to just fly around and do what he pleased?_, Mercury said in a part amused and part mocking voice.

_I did not miss your boring company_, Kilgharrah defiantly said, before he added in a slightly lower voice, _but it...might...not be as fun to do as I pleases without someone to tell me that it is stupid, dangerous and that I should not do it_.

_You did miss me!_, Mercury said and laughed both mentally and out loud, but was stopped in the middle of it when the voice of Islanzadi broke his concentration.

"What are you laughing about?", Islanzadi said in an inquisitive tone, while she stood in the now open doorway to his cell.

Mercury's expression turned from one of amusement to one of complete shock, before he warily said, "how long have you been standing there?"

Islanzadi lifted her chin and said in a proud voice, "I have been standing here for at least two minutes, but you did not seem to notice, so I ask you again: why were you laughing?"

_The two-legs-pointy-ears' queen just asked you something_, Kilgharrah mockingly said in Mercury's mind.

"I know she did", Mercury said out loud, before cursing himself for mixing up, when to talk and when to speak with your mind.

"You know she did what?", Islanzadi said confused, before in a slightly angry voice saying, "who are you talking to?"

_You really should stop doing something like that. It makes you look kind of crazy_, Kilgharrah laughingly said.

_Would you just give me a minute, you overgrown lizard_, Mercury said with annoyance clear in his voice.

_No, this is far too much fun to stop_, Kilgharrah laughingly said, _and if you shut me out, then I might just contact every single one of Gilead's citizens and tell them about me_.

"Did you hear what I said or are you purposely trying to mock me?", Islanzadi said, and Mercury could hear by the ice in her tone that she was not very happy at the moment.

Mercury knew that Kilgharrah might make true of his threat if he became annoyed enough at Mercury, so he grudgingly allowed him to stay in his mind, while he responded to Islanzadi, "I am not trying to mock you, my lady, but I was merely having a silent conversation with a part in my mind, and it was not entirely willing to end the conversation".

_Since when am I a part of your mind?_, Kilgharrah said in a voice that was part warning part curious.

_I said a part IN my mind, not OF my mind_, Mercury quickly answered, before directing his attention to Islanzadi, who looked at him like she was not quite sure whether he was crazy or not.

She quickly regained herself and said in a calm and collected voice, "why did you attack me and then surrender before actually killing me? Surely you must have known that we would not just release you after such an insult?"

"Let me ask you a question first, my lady", Mercury said in a humble voice, "do you have more guards and better wards, whenever you have an audience now?"

"Yes, it is most time- and resource consuming, but yes I have", Islanzadi said confused and a little irritated.

"Then my objectives are complete, and I will accept whatever punishment you see fit", Mercury said and lowered his head a bit.

Before Islanzadi could respond to that, a messenger came running with a mirror while she shouted, "my queen, Eragon Shadeslayer and Arya Dröttningu have requested to speak with you".

Islanzadi's eyes flashed with something that Mercury guessed to be annoyance, before she quickly collected herself and in a clear voice said, "thank you, Aideal, that will be all", after which the messenger ran away again.

_So, I guess the queen has not quite accepted her daughter's and Eragon's relationship, but at least she has not banned them from her presence or forbidden them from talking to her_, Mercury thought to himself.

"I will be having this conversation in the hall", Islanzadi told Mercury, who merely nodded, after which she went into the hall, closed the cell door and began her conversation.

Mercury only picked up fragments of the conversation, but from what he heard, he surmised that Eragon and Arya were talking about the preparations to march on Urû'baen and asking how the elves' preparations were going, which confused Mercury, as the elves' were not set to depart before at least three weeks time.

A dreading theory, about why they were talking about such things, was slowly spreading through Mercury's mind, and before he could stop himself, he shouted to Islanzadi, "wait, what week is this?"

Mercury could hear Eragon and Arya ask about who was with her, which Islanzadi quickly answered that she was visiting a prisoner, who had threatened her life, before the elves' would march out tomorrow. She then directed her attention to Mercury with annoyance clear on her face, as she said, "it is the 7th week of winter thaw".

_Seventh week of winter thaw_, Kilgharrah anxiously said in Mercury's mind, _we were supposed to have at least departed on the sixth week. Can we still make it to Dras-Leona in time?_

Mercury quickly made some quick calculations, based on a mental image of a map of Alagaësia, and angrily said, _no, at best we would meet with the Varden about three thirds of the way to Urû'baen, and I do not believe it is a good idea to have you that close to that place without a friendly army nearby_.

_Where do you intend to get an army?_, Kilgharrah asked confused.

_Hmm, I have an idea, but I need to act fast, so do not interrupt me_, Mercury quickly said, before he looked at Islanzadi and said, "are Eragon and Arya still there?"

"Yes, why?", Islanzadi said with a quizzical look on her face.

"Good", Mercury simply said, before he started to sing the song, which he had taught Eragon and Arya, before he had left, which then made Islanzadi look even more confused.

Soon Mercury could hear Eragon saying, "you never told us that Mercury was visiting Gilead".

"He is not-", Islanzadi said in a confused voice, before realization dawned on her face, "you!"

"Yes, yes, I am him", Mercury hurriedly said to Islanzadi, before he focused on the mirror in her hands and said, "Eragon, Arya, I do not know exactly how or when, but I somehow lost track of three weeks, while we were in the wilderness, so I cannot make it to you in time to start marching, but I have conferred with Kilgharrah on the matter, and we have agreed to join the elven army shortly after they leave Gilead and then meet with you when the two armies meet up".

"Kilgharrah?", Islanzadi said confused.

"Is the dragon's name, but do not ask me why he chose it, as I do not think that you would like the answer", Mercury quickly answered, before he in a slightly exasperated voice said, "so, are you going to release me or just stand around there?"

* * *

In case you are wondering, Mercury has by now spent almost 5 months away from civilization and three weeks is easily lost if there is not anything to remind you what day it is, and as he has broken his watch, which he has depended upon to tell time of day and day of week for as long as he can remember, he could have easily lost three weeks without noticing it.


	23. On the march

**On the march**

**Mercury POV  
**Mercury was currently riding on an elven horse next to Islanzadi's elven horse, while Kilgharrah was flying in a low altitude a little behind them. They had been marching with the elven army for a little more than a week and were doing well on their time schedule. The speed of the elven march had impressed Mercury, as it was far greater than that of the Varden's marching speed, but Mercury guessed that it was because of the elven endurance and strength.

Kilgharrah had only joined the elven army once they were a few days away from Gilead and Islanzadi had made every elf take an oath to not tell anyone about what they were about to see, although with a time limit which meant that after the battle of Urû'baen, they were free to do so. Needless to say that the elves had reacted with pure joy and excitement, and seeing as Mercury was standing next to their queen and was the only human allowed in the elven army, they had initially begun to chant shur'tugal, but Mercury had quickly stomped the chanting by showing his right hand, which had no gedwëy ignasia on it, and explained to the elves that the dragon was a wild one, which he had simply been tasked with protecting and keeping secret.

Since Kilgharrah's colour changing was supposed to be kept a secret, even from the elves which had taken vows of secrecy, Mercury had managed to convince Kilgharrah to stick to one colour, which Kilgharrah had then selected to be his favourite: a deep royal purple.

As Mercury rode, he was beginning to get very annoyed at the elves' constant praising of Kilgharrah, which they had done since they first saw him. It was not that Mercury felt that they should pay any attention to him, but he felt that Kilgharrah would get too cocky and too prideful if they continued as they did. Kilgharrah on the other hand had been completely thrilled about the attention, which he was suddenly given, and was beginning to get more and more out of line in order to get more attention.

_Hatchling..._, Mercury said to Kilgharrah in a warning voice.

_Yes, hen mother?_, came Kilgharrah's a bit too innocent answer.

_Stop changing your colour, the elves' might not have noticed yet, but I can see you made your scales a bit deeper in the colour_, Mercury said, annoyed at having to mention it yet again.

_How can you see that? Your back is turned and the elves, who have much better eyes than you, have not noticed it yet_, Kilgharrah said confused.

_You honestly think that after five months of watching over you, I would just leave you out of my sight?_, Mercury answered in a slightly amused voice.

_No, but how-_, Kilgharrah managed to say, before he was interrupted by Mercury, _I am seeing you through the eyes of the hawk in the sky, and have done so for some time now_.

Kilgharrah started to slightly growl, which startled the nearby elves, before he said, _I do not like to be spied on!_

_I am technically still your guardian_, Mercury said in a calm and authoritative voice.

_Remember the last time you tried to use that argument?_, Kilgharrah said, as he sent a picture of a three months old Kilgharrah bashing Mercury between his paws, like a cat playing with a mouse, before Kilgharrah took off.

Mercury only slightly flinched at the memory, before he countered, _remember the reason I had to use it?_, and sent Kilgharrah a picture of them from earlier at the day, where they were running from an angry urzhad.

As Kilgharrah received the image, he growled slightly more fiercely and flew past Mercury and tried to bash him off the horse with one of his paws, but Mercury, who had anticipated the reaction, nimbly dodged the blow and laughed as Kilgharrah continued to fly high up into the sky.

"What was that about and why are you laughing?", Islanzadi asked in a concerned voice.

"Just a story, which Kilgharrah does not like to be reminded of", Mercury chuckling said.

"Care to explain further?", Islanzadi inquisitively said.

"It was doing our time in the Beor-mountains, when Kilgharrah was only about three months old", Mercury started, "I had discovered traces of an urzhad nearby and wanted to avoid its cave altogether, but Kilgharrah was feeling very cocky and immediately flew past me and challenged the urzhad at its cave. However upon seeing the full size of the urzhad, Kilgharrah felt less inclined to challenge it in any way, and I had to distract the urzhad for long enough to enable us to make a run for it. After that I confronted Kilgharrah about the incident and tried to use my status as his guardian to make him listen to me, but it kind of backfired and he bashed me around for a while, before he took off and left me there".

"He left you?", Islanzadi said, astounded by the story.

"Yeah, it took me a week to track him down", Mercury said with a shrug, before continuing, "and when I finally did, he had just caught a deer, which he uncharacteristically agreed to share with me, although he would still to this day claim that it was not an apology of any sort".

"Hmm, perhaps we should have taken the chance and waited for an elf to be his guardian", Islanzadi mused.

"You think he would listen to an elf?", Mercury said in a slightly accusing voice, "he is a wild dragon and does what he wants when he wants. Why do you think we were near Gilead in the first place? He wanted to see the entire Du Weldenvarden and Hadarac desert, and it was only through some rather annoying measures that I finally convinced him not to fly deep into Du Weldenvarden and visit your cities".

"I see, forgive me for speaking out of turn", Islanzadi apologized, before she in curious voice said, "rather annoying measures?"

"I would prefer not to speak of them, as they are between me and the hatchling", Mercury absentmindedly said to brush any further questions on the matter off.

_Did you just call me hatchling in front of the queen of two-legs-pointy-ears?_, Kilgharrah said to both of them, as he landed slightly in front of them.

"You would dare call a mighty dragon, hatchling?", Islanzadi said with a bit of coldness in her voice, which alarmed Mercury a bit.

"Not openly, that was by accident", Mercury calmly said.

"But privately to Kilgharrah?", Islanzadi said, while she looked completely stunned and ready to kill Mercury for the insult to the dragon.

_I call him hen mother_, Kilgharrah said to the amusement of the elven queen, before he continued, _but maybe I should call him grumpy instead?_

"I am not grumpy", Mercury said confused.

_You sometimes are in the morning_, Kilgharrah chuckling said.

"Are you referring to that the time, where I woke up alone on a lone peak in a ravine with a straight several hundred metres drop to each side and no other way down or off the peak?", Mercury questioningly said.

_Yes, you were quite grumpy then_, Kilgharrah said and laughed his rumbling dragon laughter.

"You left me there, after you said it was alright for me to dose off for a while, while you carried me across in your talons", Mercury said in a slightly annoyed voice.

_I came back for you, did I not?_, Kilgharrah said in an amused voice.

"Three days later!", Mercury almost shouted, which openly attracted the attention of some of the nearby elves, who until then had tried not to openly show that they followed what happened carefully.

_And there is grumpy again_, Kilgharrah laughingly said, before he took off again.

Mercury was about to retort, but was stopped by the sudden laughter of the person next to him. The laughter sounded musical and light and almost beckoned Mercury to join in, which he only just restrained himself from. Mercury was not so much surprised at the laughter, but more at the source of which it stemmed from, because that source was Islanzadi, cold calculating and always critical Islanzadi.

Mercury had never thought about her even being capable of openly showing such joy, it just did not fit with everything he knew about her, and from the looks of the nearby lords and ladies of the elves, they did not expect her to either.

She continued to laugh for almost a full minute, before she finally composed herself, and with a single glare at each of the other elves, who still looked at her in complete shock, they quickly averted their gazes and again began to pretend not to follow their queen's every movement with their eyes.

Her ability to suddenly change mood from one of pure joy to her usual self astounded Mercury, although he had heard talk about the elves' ability to quickly go from one emotion to the next, but still never openly show what they themselves felt.

Much of Mercury's thoughts and emotions must have been written on his face, because as Islanzadi looked at him, she slightly frowned and said, "does it surprise you that much to hear the laugh of the elves?"

"Not the laugh of the elves, my lady, but hearing you laugh openly comes as a bit of a shock to me", Mercury admitted in a slightly hesitant voice.

"I...understand", Islanzadi slowly said, "it is a long time since I last laughed like that, and frankly I believe most of my people have forgotten that I am even capable of such".

"With all due respect, my lady, when was the last time you last laughed, and why the sudden urge to do so now?", Mercury warily said, as he was slightly afraid of overstepping his boundaries with the elven queen.

Islanzadi seemed to reel back for a second, before she said in a slightly sad voice, "I have not laughed like that in a little more than a century".

Mercury guessed by the time frame and the slightly sad voice, that the last time she probably laughed was when her mate still lived, so he chose not to pursue the matter any further. It had proven to be a very good idea to spend as much time as he did in the library of Feinster, as he had learned about the history of Alagaësia, its cultures and people and thereby known enough to avoid certain sensitive topics in conversations, which he would have never known about had he not spent such an amount of time there.

_It is amazing how a person, who have spent less than a year in the country can know more about it than probably over 75 % of its inhabitants_, Mercury mused to himself, _but I guess that should be expected as the collected knowledge a simple farmer would get in his lifetime in the middle ages, would not even equal the amount of knowledge in a single newspaper_.

Mercury was thrown out of his musings by the quizzical voice of Islanzadi, "I actually have a question, although it may be slightly personal".

_Hmm, what could she want to know? Perhaps it has something to do with Eragon or Arya_, Mercury quickly thought to himself, before he said, "go ahead", and motioned with his hand for her to do so.

"Everyone I meet or talk to either calls me Queen Islanzadi, your majesty or my queen, but no one ever addresses me as my lady. Why do you do so?", Islanzadi asked in a curious voice.

This was not the sort of question Mercury had been expecting, but he was not opposed to answering, so he said with a shrug, "I do not know, it just felt natural to do so".

Islanzadi accepted his answer with a small nod, before they continued on in silence for a few hours. Mercury did not mind the silence, as he had never been one for small talk, and Islanzadi seemed to be deep in her own thoughts.

"I do not think I ever answered the second part of your question", Islanzadi suddenly said and effectively jerked Mercury out of the half-sleep he was currently in.

"Hmm?", Mercury grunted, as he tried to recall what she was talking about.

"About why I suddenly had the urge to laugh freely before", Islanzadi reminded him.

"Oh, right", Mercury said. He had completely forgotten about that after the mention of the last time she had laughed, "so why the sudden urge?"

Islanzadi let a small smile grace her lips, which made her look much more like an actual living person, instead of the figurehead of the elven race, which she was so often seen as, before she said, "Kilgharrah's words and behaviour reminded me of the time where wild dragons did what they wanted to whom they wanted, and I never thought I would live to see the time where a wild dragon did so again".

"If you want, I am sure I can convince Kilgharrah to do so again? It really would not take a lot of convincing to make him do so again", Mercury jested, which brought forth a small chuckle from Islanzadi.

Still chuckling, Islanzadi said, "I appreciate the offer, but has he always been like this?"

Mercury let a small smile grace his lips, as he recalled the events of the past 5 months, before he said in a slightly happy voice, "well, he has always been very determined to oppose anything that would restrict his freedom and often did things, which were much more complicated and irrational, just to avoid following my advice, but that is to be expected with a wild dragon. I do however believe that he has grown cheekier since we joined your army. It is probably all of the praise; it just is not good for an already prideful dragon to get that much attention and praise".

At this Islanzadi let out another small laugh, before she said, "I would like to see you try to make the elves not praise a dragon whenever they see one".

"I did", Mercury plainly stated, "it did not go well. They kept speaking about the honour of the dragon, which really is an annoying argument".

Shortly after that, Islanzadi called the army to halt and prepare camp, after which she asked Mercury, "do you know where Kilgharrah is? I have not seen him since he last took off".

"He is hunting near the Ramr-river a few kilometres east of here", Mercury simply stated, as he began to unsaddle his burrowed horse.

"You always have a mental connection with him?", Islanzadi asked astounded.

Mercury turned to face her, as he said in a calm voice, "no, but I have had a hawk follow him ever since he took off. I have spent far too much time with him to simply let him out of my sight".

"You know he was right about you", Islanzadi said in a gleeful voice.

"How so?", Mercury asked with a quizzical look on his face.

"You really are a hen mother", Islanzadi said while slightly chuckling.

Mercury let out a small chuckle, before he said, "it is practically my job description".

After that they strode to each part of the camp and Mercury quickly began to set up his tent and cook his dinner, which mostly was comprised of fruits, nuts and other vegetables. Kilgharrah joined the army a few hours later, and after finally growing tired of the elves' constant praising, he left them and moved to lay down near Mercury's tent, where he was sure no one would disturb his sleep, even if it was to constantly praise his fierce looks, strong muscles and colourful scales.

Mercury was slightly amused by Kilgharrah's reasons for sleeping there and subsequently asked, _have the hatchling finally grown tired of the constant praising?_

Kilgharrah snorted, before he responded, _it is becoming rather annoying. It just does not feel as good to be praised about something without actually earning it_.

Mercury let his appreciation of Kilgharrah's answer show through the mental link, before he said, _perhaps there is yet hope for you growing up someday, hatchling_.

Kilgharrah growled slightly, although it was not serious, before he said in a defiant voice, _I have grown up_.

_You cannot breathe fire yet_, Mercury pointed out.

_It should come any day now_, Kilgharrah said and tried to breathe fire, but ended up just engulfing Mercury's little camp in a cloud of thick smoke.

Mercury coughed and waved his hands to get the smoke to clear, before he said, _besides we both know I did not mean reaching physical maturity, but mental maturity. Do not worry however; I am sure you will reach mental maturity...in a couple of years...or decades_.

Kilgharrah blew another cloud of smoke at Mercury's face and immediately started to fall asleep. Mercury was actually quite proud at the fact that Kilgharrah had grown tired of the easy praise of the elves and wanted to earn it himself, but he would not let Kilgharrah see just how proud he was. Shortly after that, Mercury too retired to his tent and went to sleep, before he awoke early in the morning and continued to march on Urû'baen and the final battle, which would decide the fate of Alagaësia.


	24. The war meeting

No one has guessed why Islanzadi really should not know why Kilgharrah has the name he has, what a shame...or it is so obvious that no one has bothered to comment on it. In any case, if you have not guessed already why he is named as such, there will be a small hint in the 26th chapter, although it is quite small and would hardly be noticed by people who already knew.

* * *

**The war meeting**

**Eragon POV  
**Eragon was standing with Arya and Saphira on a hill a couple of kilometres away from the Varden's and the elves' army. The two armies had joined up at Urû'baen a few days ago and were now laying siege to the city. Mercury had insisted that Kilgharrah was kept away from the armies, and he had subsequently chosen to stay with him, as he did not want to lose the surprise element of Kilgharrah after having spent 6 months maintaining it.

Eragon had not yet told anyone about the Eldunarya, except the ones who had accompanied him to Vroengard, which meant Arya, Saphira and Glaedr. While on Vroengard, Arya and Eragon had had to use their true names to open the vault of souls, so they had agreed in a show of extreme trust in one another to exchange their true names.

The first time Eragon had seen Mercury after the armies had met, he had been surprised at his appearance, as it had changed a lot from the person, who had ventured out from Dras-Leona with a small dragon to look after. Mercury's cheekbones were way more prominent than they had been when Eragon first met him, and all in all he looked skinnier, but his eyes and his movements still revealed that he would be able to kill anyone who got too near Kilgharrah. Although he appeared much more malnourished now than when he had left, Queen Islanzadi had told Eragon that he had looked way worse when he had first arrived at Gilead. The biggest change had however been the long grey beard, which Mercury seemed to gained on his travels, but that had come off the minute after Mercury had gotten his hands on one of the Varden's shaving kits, as the elves had no need of such things, he had not been able to do so before.

Eragon had contacted the leaders, Roran and Mercury, who would bring along Kilgharrah, and told them to meet him here for a very important war meeting, but to make sure that their absences would not be noticed too much, and he was now preparing to unveil one of the most guarded secrets of the dragon riders to them, and after that they had to decide on their plan of attack.

Blödhgarn and Queen Islanzadi was the first to arrive, a little later came Nasuada, Jörmundur, Roran and King Orrin, and lastly came King Orik and Mercury with Kilgharrah flying in a colour, which matched the sky, directly above him. Mercury had chosen to wear his custom made armour at every minute of each day that they spent near Urû'baen, and Eragon half suspected him of sleeping in it, as he had once woken him by knocking on his tent, and a few seconds later Mercury had come out wearing his full armour.

Upon reaching the rest, King Orik greeted the others as one royal would another, but Mercury merely gave a small nod with his head, as he said the name of the assembled, except that he chose not to include any royal titles, but when he came to Queen Islanzadi, he dipped his head slightly lower than the rest while saying, "my lady", which Eragon could see infuriated King Orrin to no extent that he had not acknowledged his authority as he had Queen Islanzadi's.

After everyone had gathered, Eragon had them swear themselves to secrecy in the Ancient language, before he explained what an Eldunarí was and retold the events of the Fall. Orik, Roran and Jörmundur all reacted with surprise, disbelief and lots of questions, but to Eragon's surprise, Mercury's only reaction was to grin slightly and for a brief moment look towards the citadel of Urû'baen with a glint of mischief in his eyes, before he quickly covered up his unexpected reaction.

When at long last Eragon had convinced everyone about the existence of Eldunarya, he told them to open their minds, after which the dragons in the pocket of space behind Saphira started to speak with them. The elves reacted strongest to this, and Eragon could even hear Queen Islanzadi greet many of the dragons by name and bid them welcome as old friends. The mental noise was so loud that Eragon had to separate himself from it for a moment, but when he returned he noticed that some of the elder dragons with Umaroth in the lead had initiated a small private conversation with Mercury.

Although Eragon respected their wish for privacy, he still heard a few sentences from their conversation, but they meant little to him without the full context. Mercury had at the start said, _it was you?_, to which the dragons had responded, _aye_. Then there was a while were nothing could be heard, before Eragon heard Mercury's voice again, _we are in agreement then?_, to which Umaroth responded, _we are if all other fails_, after which Umaroth and the rest of the elders joined the communal mental conversation again.

_Umaroth-elda, what did you speak with Mercury about?_, Eragon privately asked the elder dragon.

_Speak?_, Umaroth asked confused, _I have not spoken with him at all_.

Eragon could feel that Umaroth's confusion was real, so he concluded that whatever was said must have been completely wiped from Umaroth's memory, which would only happen if Umaroth and the rest of the elder dragon's had agreed to it, so he decided not to pursue the topic, but to trust in the wisdom of the elder dragons.

After that, the assembled discussed the best way of attack, to which they are several hours agreed that Eragon and Saphira, along with their elven guard and Arya would go into the citadel, while the rest of the armies and a fake Saphira and Eragon would attack a part of the wall as a diversion.

Kilgharrah's role in this was heavily debated, but it was finally agreed upon that he would remain at the outside and fly camouflaged in the sky, and eventually try to stop Thorn and Murtagh from entering the castle, if they discovered the fake Saphira and Eragon, and then keep supporting the outside army after that, but when they began to discuss who should ride Kilgharrah, Kilgharrah interrupted them by saying, _I am the last free wild dragon and will not allow anyone to ride on my back_.

"Kilgharrah please listen", Eragon started, "you need a rider to have a chance against Murtagh and Thorn. It is what made the riders of old more powerful than the wild dragons of old".

_No, I will still not allow it. I am strong enough on my own_, Kilgharrah defiantly said.

Eragon was about to continue pleading, and from the recesses of his mind, he knew that Saphira was about to force Kilgharrah to agree if he would not listen to reason, but they were stopped by the sudden appearance of a firm hand on Eragon's left shoulder.

The hand belonged to Mercury, who whispered into Eragon's ear, "let me just have a moment alone with him", before he strolled past Eragon and led Kilgharrah a little away from the group.

Eragon could not see Mercury's mouth open and close, so he guessed that they had a private mental conversation. Minutes trickled by without any other movement than the occasional gesticulations of Mercury, which among others involved something that looked, as if it was falling off something and plummeting down, Mercury pretending to weigh something with his hands and a lot more, with some being simpler and some way more complicated.

After a while it looked like they finally had reached an agreement, because they both nodded to each other and then joined the rest of the group. Once there Mercury cleared his throat and began to speak in a clear voice, like he was announcing something to an audience, "I have reached an agreement with Kilgharrah on the matter. Kilgharrah has allowed himself to be ridden until Thorn and Murtagh have been neutralized as a threat, after which he will drop the person riding him off at a location of that person's choice. Kilgharrah has unfortunately refused to allow me or anyone else to create a saddle for him, so whoever is going to ride him will do it bareback, but the person will be allowed to secure and protect his legs with magic. Furthermore Kilgharrah has reserved the right to choose his own rider, but have agreed to the requirements that that person must be able to use magic fluently, attack and defend with his mind and be at a good to expert level of swordsmanship. I believe that summarizes our agreement?", at the last sentence Mercury looked at Kilgharrah who merely blinked in confirmation.

"I am sure I can get you a list of my most capable warriors right away", Queen Islanzadi quickly said.

_I have already decided upon my rider_, Kilgharrah answered to all.

"Oh, who is it then?", Arya asked with a bit of curiosity in her voice.

_Because Mercury was the one who negotiated the arrangement, pays the price and fulfils the requirements, he shall have the honour_, Kilgharrah answered, which only caused a few protests from King Orrin, but strangely enough none from Queen Islanzadi.

_She must have expected it as a possibility, little one_, Saphira said to him.

_Aye, she has spent more time with this Kilgharrah, and therefore she knows him better than us_, Eragon answered.

After that final part had been settled, everyone eventually started to clear out, but Eragon signalled Mercury that he wanted him to stay, and then waited for everyone else to leave, except him, Arya and Saphira, before he said, "what did you discuss with Umaroth-elda and the other elder dragons?"

To Eragon's surprise, Mercury looked confusedly at him and said, "discuss? I do not think I have spoken to them any more than a simple greeting".

_He does not know either?_, Eragon quickly asked Saphira.

_Perhaps they agreed that it would be best if neither party remembered what had been said or perhaps Mercury just accidentally asked about Kuthian's rock and then the magic reactivated_, Saphira wisely said.

_Perhaps you are right_, Eragon answered.

_Am I not always, little one?_, Saphira smugly replied.

"Was there anything else?" Mercury said and interrupted their mental conversation.

"There was one thing actually", Eragon said, as he remembered something that had been pestering on his mind since for a while, "when did Kilgharrah start to bargain like a salesman? The entire thing felt more like a sort of contract than the simple agreement, which I know dragons like to stick to".

"I am afraid that might be my fault", Mercury said with a small smile at his lips, "I thought it would be a good idea to teach him a few things other than the things we agreed upon at Dras-Leona. One of them was how to negotiate a deal, to make sure that he would never be exploited, another was how to read maps and as you might have guessed, the first thing I taught him was to communicate in words and sentences".

_Impressive_, Saphira said, _very few wild dragons have ever been taught how to speak in words and sentences, and even fewer have learned about maps and such human topics as negotiation. How did you manage to teach him?_

Mercury chuckled for a moment, before he said, "lots and lots of patience, stubbornness and a few positive reinforcements to keep up the spirit".

"Positive reinforcements?", Eragon asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Scratching at his favourite place, a few very well seasoned snacks and some other things, but do not get me started about that", Mercury said and waved his hand to wave any further questions on the topic away.

"Hmm fine, but it might have been good to know when the time comes, where I have to teach hatchlings", Eragon jestingly said, before continuing in a curious voice, "but what was the price you pay, which Kilgharrah talked about?"

"That is between him and me, and I would prefer it to remain that way", Mercury said in a strict but not unfriendly voice, before he looked at the darkening sky and said, "it is getting late. I better get going. Bye", and with that goodbye, Mercury left the hill and headed towards his and Kilgharrah's hidden campsite, leaving Eragon, Saphira and Arya as the last people there.

Eragon turned to look into the emerald eyes, which belonged to Arya, and likewise she turned to look into his. Neither of them spoke for a while, they merely basked in the presence of the other. Eragon began to memorize each and every single part of the beautiful goddess before him. Her emerald eyes, which could both make the mightiest warrior and the proudest king tremble before her, while still being able to show more care than anything Eragon could have ever imagined, although it was very rare they did so. Her scent of crushed pine needles, which so intoxicated him. Her raven black hair being held back by her usual leather strap, which he only so faintly knew how soft was.

"Arya, I-", Eragon began to say, but was interrupted by three of Arya's fingers on his lips.

"We should not do something, which we might regret later, just because we might die tomorrow", Arya said, before she began to turn away, but halfway through the action she stopped and turned back. Her three fingers were still on Eragon's lips, but he only faintly noticed them, as she slowly moved her head closer and closer to his, before her lips almost met his, being only separated by her three fingers. The moment lasted for only a few seconds, before she drew back, looked Eragon directly in the eyes and said, "**but we will talk about this again after the battle, if we both survive**".

Eragon was completely stunned by her actions and could only watch, as she trotted off towards the elven part of the camp, where she resided at her mother's request. Her actions and her use of the Ancient language had left him with a renewed hope in his heart. A hope for a possible future between them, and he would do anything to make that future come to life.

**Mercury POV  
**Mercury had just returned to the camp from the war meeting. Kilgharrah was currently sleeping at his usual spot near the campfire, but Mercury did not feel tired at all, because too much was going through his mind right now.

He had gotten the acceptance from Umaroth and some of the other older dragons, but had then had to remove any memory of their conversation from their minds, as it would jeopardize the entire plan if they knew.

The discovery of the existence of Eldunarí as the source of Galbatorix's power had been a valuable asset in his future plans, but with the addition of these new Eldunarya, his plans had both gotten more complicated and perhaps hopefully simpler, as he now for the first time believed that Eragon might have a faint chance against Galbatorix.

He had picked up the secret weapons from Orik the previous day, but Orik had only managed to produce four of them, so Mercury would have to spare them for a time, where they would be absolutely necessary.

As he looked across the camp, his eyes settled on the sleeping form of Kilgharrah, who were no doubt sleeping peacefully, and were blissfully unaware of what would unfold tomorrow, as was the rest of the Varden.

Mercury had never wanted to exceed the limits of pure professionalism towards Kilgharrah, and had in fact worked very hard to have it remain that way, but somewhere along the line he had started to develop feelings for the dragon, which were not what was supposed to happen, as they could endanger everything.

Mercury had begun to feel pride and joy at seeing the little hatchling overcome the obstacles of language, and whatever other challenges Mercury or the world would face him with. He had felt genuine concern, whenever the little hatchling had gotten into trouble and been in danger, and he had begun to actually feel remorse, which he had never even felt once in his entire life, for what he would have to do, but he could never tell the little hatchling any of this. No, Mercury had to remain as stoic as possible to the hatchling, which was why he never called him by his real name, whenever they spoke, but merely referred to him as hatchling, as a way to make him into a mere object, but somehow even that simple name had found a deeper meaning to Mercury.

Eragon, Arya and Orik had been friends, yes, but Mercury had made sure to keep enough of a distance, so that he would be able to sacrifice them along with the rest of the Varden, if it became necessary for the plan, but now he was beginning to doubt his ability to sacrifice the hatchling, if the plan demanded it, and he knew this was not a good thing to be doubting now, so he would have to try and secure the hatchling's survival within the plan...and he knew just the way to do it, although a few innocents would have to be sacrificed in the process. Not that it bothered Mercury particularly to do so.

His plan had taken so much preparation and so much effort to maintain since its early conception back before he rejoined the Varden after the taking of Belatona, and now it could all be undone by one single little unforeseen dragon egg, but now was not the time to ponder these meaningless thoughts, so he pushed them to the back of his mind, and went inside his tent to sleep, with his last thought being, _tomorrow will change it all_.

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What could Mercury be planning? Why did Umaroth have to have his memory of their conversation erased? Will Mercury be able to save Kilgharrah or will he have to make one final sacrifice for his last plan? Find out in the next chapter of The Beginnings of the Shadow...or the one after that or after that.

Oh, and btw I know that I might have made him sound kind of merciless at the end, but if you have not figured that out yet, then I will just tell you now. Mercury's mantra is 'the end justifies the means', and there is very few things that could ever get him to change his mind if his plan required him to do something, and those things are not exactly Eragon and Arya.


	25. High to fly

Hey, I just noticed that whenever you write a review now, a text will pop up that says that the author thanks you. Know that this message should not be read if you ever comment on my stories, as I would much rather like to respond personally to your review than have some automated response.

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**High to fly**

**Mercury POV  
**Mercury and Kilgharrah were soaring high in the sky. Kilgharrah's scales had the exact same colour as the sky above them: a clear light blue colour. The sky was virtually empty of any clouds today and the winds were nothing more than a gentle breeze. As Mercury looked around and beyond the city of Urû'baen, he could see the golden fields of crops, which were only stopped by the beautiful green pastures and the grey cobblestone roads, which lead travellers to Urû'baen.

Mercury far enjoyed sitting atop Kilgharrah, when they flew through the sky, than when Kilgharrah had simply snatched him up in his talons and carried him. He could definitely see why Eragon and Saphira liked to fly so much, as it gave a sense of tranquillity and awe, when you flew unhindered through the skies.

Mercury had quickly decided that all in all, it would actually be a quite beautiful day...if you overlooked the fact that on the walls of Urû'baen there were heavy fighting and bloodshed, and the fact that the fake Saphira and the very real Thorn sometimes missed with their flames and accidentally set fire to some of the buildings, but then again even the flames gave a certain tinge to the sky, which made it somewhat resemble a setting sun.

_Are you even paying attention to what goes on below_, came Kilgharrah's voice, which broke the small serenity, which had so far encompassed Mercury's mind.

_Of course I am, but we cannot interfere with the battles on the wall or in the city, before we have neutralized Thorn and Murtagh_, Mercury replied in a voice, which showed that he was slightly insulted that Kilgharrah would question his focus, _and we need every advantage to neutralize those two, as they have way more experience, power and sheer size, so you just have to remain up here and keep out sight_.

A roar of cheers broke from the ranks of the Varden, and as Mercury looked down, he noticed that Saphira was clearly visible, despite that the plan was to have her magically camouflaged all the way up to the keep. Murtagh and Thorn clearly noticed this too, because after a minute of hesitation, they left their pursuit of the fake Saphira and set out towards the keep.

_NOW!_, Mercury screamed in Kilgharrah's mind, and immediately after Kilgharrah changed the angle of his wings and started to descend rapidly towards the ground.

Kilgharrah's descend was not done randomly, but rather angled and controlled, so that he would cross Thorn's current flight path and be able to attack him from above. He did not roar a challenge on the way down, but merely kept as quiet as he possibly could, because their best chance would be to catch the dragon rider pair completely off guard.

To anyone at the ground, Kilgharrah would have looked like nothing more than a fast moving shimmer in the sky, which was because of his colour changing scales and almost completely transparent wings. Mercury had studied one of Kilgharrah's scales, and had theorized that the scale was composited of two primary parts: an outer part, which encircled the inner part from the outside, and a smaller inner part, which could be tilted slightly by a small group of muscles near each of the scales. The outer part of the scale was as hard as any dragon scale, but it also acted like a kind of lens, which directed all light falling on the scale into the inner part of the scale. The inner part then acted as a sort of prism, and dependent on the tilt of the inner part, would show any kind of colour in the rainbow, which was then directed out of the scale by the same lens function, which directed the light into the inner part in the first place, or at least that was how Mercury theorized that it worked.

Kilgharrah approached Thorn and Murtagh from above with astounding speed, which was a direct result of his rapid descend, and almost without making any sound, but Murtagh must have set some kind of ward on Thorn, because the second before Kilgharrah slammed into Thorn's back, they both directed their attention towards where he was coming from, but from the look of their faces, they were very unsure of what was happening, and neither was fast enough to do anything before Kilgharrah's strong front talons grabbed around Thorn's wings.

The size difference was so great that Thorn was at least twice as large as Kilgharrah, but size did not matter because of Kilgharrah's very favourable position. Thorn struggled to get the now deep royal purple dragon off his back, but Kilgharrah merely grabbed on tighter with his front talons and began to snap at Murtagh, who was still trying to release his feet from the straps holding them into position.

Although Thorn's wings were far greater than Kilgharrah's, they still could not keep the two dragons and their riders aloft, so everyone quickly began to plummet down towards the earth, although Thorn did manage to angle the descent, so that they would glide across the outer walls and hit the grass plains on the outside.

_Tear off Thorn's wings!_, Mercury shouted to Kilgharrah.

_What? But he would never recover from that_, Kilgharrah said in voice, which had a tint of guilt in it.

_We cannot only give them superficial cuts and bruises if we are to even survive, Murtagh healed Thorn from far greater injuries in seconds, when they battled Eragon and Saphira_, Mercury quickly responded in a commanding voice, _Tear them off, before the idiot realizes he can simply stop us mid air with his magic!_

After that Kilgharrah immediately began to pull at Thorn's wings, but Mercury thought he could sense a bit of sadness emanating from him, and he knew the reason behind this was that dragons treasured flying above all else, and if they somehow survived to have their wings ripped off, they would often commit suicide because of their loss.

As Kilgharrah continued pulling at Thorn's wings, Thorn realized what they were doing and elicited a roar, which although terrifying to most, also sounded extremely frightened to Mercury. Soon the ripping sound of flesh being ripped open could be heard, and before long both of Thorn's wings were plummeting separately from his body towards the ground. A massive flow of blood seeped out from the holes, where the wings had been a second prior, and Mercury could see Murtagh bend over in an expression of extreme pain, before Kilgharrah launched himself off of Thorn's back.

Without his wings, Thorn could not slow his descend, and what was meant as a semi-controlled glide towards the plains out in front of Urû'baen, quickly became a straight drop towards a relatively unmanned part of the wall. Mercury watched the entire event from the back of Kilgharrah, who was also descending towards the wall, although at a much slower and much more controlled dive.

Thorn eventually hit the wall and the people on it, with a resounding crack and guessing from the angle of Thorn's head, the crack had originated from his neck. Kilgharrah landed a little away from the massive red dragon and allowed Mercury to jump off, which he did with a fully drawn sword, after which he then started to carefully move towards the heap of the red behemoth.

As he approached Thorn's body, he could hear the crying sobs of Murtagh, followed by the occasional shouting of Thorn's name from near Thorn's head, and as he warily circled around, he saw Murtagh kneeling in front of the red dragon's head with his arms thrown around it. Murtagh seemed to notice Mercury's approach, because his sobs subsided a little and he began to stand, while slowly but determinedly drawing Za'roc.

"YOU KILLED HIM!", Murtagh shouted with spit flying from his mouth.

_His anger makes him very dangerous_, Mercury mused to himself, _but it could also be the source of his downfall, as he has no regard for his own life anymore and certainly does not think straight_.

A plan quickly formed in Mercury's mind, and as Murtagh began to advance on him, Mercury could hear Kilgharrah starting to growl warningly from behind him, but he quickly hushed him by saying, "this is between me and Murtagh", before he mentally told Kilgharrah of his plan, which Kilgharrah only grudgingly agreed to.

Mercury had never seen Murtagh fight, but from what he had learned about the dragon rider's previous encounters with Eragon, he was as fast and as strong as an elf, combined with an expert level of swordsmanship and an extremely vast resource of energy from his Eldunarya, which Mercury hoped that he would forget to properly use in his rage.

Murtagh quickly struck the first blow, which would have been a decapitation strike if Mercury had not managed to block it, but it had also left him open to attack, although only someone with the speed and strength of an elf would have been able to exploit this.

His next strike was also intended as a killing blow to Mercury's heart and the same counted for the next three strikes, which Murtagh made. Murtagh was shouting curses at Mercury between every strike he made, and after every failed killing blow, he would become even more furious, which made his attacks even more ragged and disorganized, but because of his speed and strength, he still far outclassed Mercury, who only just managed to duck, block and dodge his strikes.

"Why...won't...you...just...lie...down...and...die!", Murtagh shouted, as he continued to pound on Mercury's defences.

Mercury simply continued to block, evade and occasionally make a few counterattacks, while he patiently waited for the right moment, which he knew would eventually come; all he needed was to survive until it did. Then after another series of strikes from Murtagh, Mercury saw his moment and quickly shouted to Kilgharrah, _Now!_

Murtagh tried to stab Mercury again, but Mercury managed to sidestep him, and when Murtagh looked up, he saw a dragon with the exact same colour of scales as Thorn had had. Murtagh dropped his sword on the ground and made to run towards his beloved dragon, before he seemed to realize the massive size difference and generally different build of this dragon, but the moment he realized this was also the moment where a long thin slightly curved sword penetrated his back, went through his heart and exited on his front side.

"I'm...coming, Thorn", Murtagh managed to rasp out, before the sword left him as quickly as it had entered, and he collapsed on the wall with his beloved Thorn a little behind him, a red Kilgharrah in front of him, Mercury directly behind him and Za'roc near his right hand, but still just out of reach.

"Hmm, that was not so hard. I did not even have to use any of my gadgets", Mercury calmly said, as he wiped his sword clean in Murtagh's clothes, before he sheathed it on his back.

_You did trick him in a very cruel way, and broke your promise of it just being the two you_, Kilgharrah said with a little bit of accusation clear in his voice.

_This is war, hatchling_, Mercury bluntly responded_, there is no honourable way to fight, because then both parties would have to negate all that made them better than their opponent, so that they could be even and honourable. Besides I never directly promised him anything, and even if I had, you did not directly interfere, and he did have the help of the Eldunarya to give him speed, strength and endurance_.

_I would just wish that we had been able to save them. They were dragon riders after all_, Kilgharrah said, clearly saddened by the loss of one of his kin.

_Do not be so sad, Kilgharrah_, Mercury said in a soothing voice, _they encountered much resistance and adversity throughout their lives, and would have continued to do so for countless years to come if we do not prevail here, so do not be sad for the dead, but be sad for the ones still living, for their trials are over and ours are just beginning_.

Mercury thought he could sense a bit of comfort coming from Kilgharrah's mind, and he knew that his attempt to soothe him had succeeded, although most of what he said was meant only to ease Kilgharrah's grief at killing one of his kin, as he did not feel anymore sadness about killing Thorn and Murtagh, than he did about killing any other soldier in Galbatorix's army, as he surmised that most of those were probably forced into servitude just as Murtagh and Thorn had been. In fact the death of Murtagh and Thorn slightly gladdened Mercury, which he made sure to keep from Kilgharrah, because now he had taken a valuable knight off the board, just as he had planned he would have to.

_I might have managed to merely subdue Thorn and Murtagh, if I had used the elves as backup, but that would go against what I needed to happen_, Mercury mused to himself, and made sure that his mind was completely closed off from Kilgharrah's,_ and besides it would have taken up a lot of energy to subdue him, and then taken even more resources to keep him subdued, but what should we do now about the Eldunarya, which they were carrying? We cannot use them ourselves and we cannot let them fall into enemy hands. Kilgharrah cannot carry them all without a saddle with saddlebags and it would be too time consuming to move them to the Varden camp by hand, so that only leaves..._

_Hatchling start digging a hole just outside the wall, which must be big enough for all of the Eldunarya in Thorn's saddle bags to fit in_, Mercury quickly said, and immediately after relayed his reasons behind his decision.

After the now again deep royal purple Kilgharrah had finished digging the hole, Mercury gently lowered the Eldunarya down into it, and when he was done, Kilgharrah filled the hole again and joined Mercury on the battlements once again, where Mercury quickly mounted him again, before they took off towards the sky, where Mercury could evaluate the situation and better decide where he wanted to be dropped off, as the last part of their arrangement.

Mercury could see that the elves had succeeded in destroying the gate, which the Varden was currently pouring through. Minor skirmishes had broken out in most of the surrounding alleys and a few larger battles were being waged in and among the larger roads leading to and from the gate. Near the gate Mercury could see an isolated group of 10 elves, about 50-60 humans and about 15-20 kull.

_I can see your guard force at the gate_, Mercury said to Kilgharrah, and sent a picture of where they were for good measure.

_Hmrf_, Kilgharrah snorted, _dragons do not need guards. We are mighty and fearsome creatures on our own_.

_Alright, let me just rephrase that then_, Mercury said, semi-amused at Kilgharrah's continued pride in his own abilities, _I can see the group assigned to clean up after you, when you are done battering the thousands of completely helpless humans with spears, sword, arrows and other sorts of strange weaponry, which will of course be targeting you. And if you are feeling a bit tired and want a nap for a moment, I am sure this group can make sure that no one disturbs you during your nap_.

_Sarcasm? I never expected that from you. When did you suddenly develop a humorous side?_, Kilgharrah said in a semi-amused voiced, before he continued in a slightly impatient voice, _and are you not supposed to find a place for me to set you down, instead of lecturing me about my guard?_

_Are we impatient to get rid of me, hatchling?_, Mercury chuckled, before continuing in a serious voice, _I see a spot over there that will do just fine_, and sent Kilgharrah a picture of where he wanted to be set down.

Kilgharrah immediately angled his flight towards the place, but on the way there he said in a concerned voice, _are you sure you want to go down there? It is quite far from anyone from the Varden, and to even get to them, you would have to fight through the imperial lines_.

_Yes, I am sure. In fact that is why I chose it_, Mercury quickly responded, _I can do much more damage striking the enemies in the back than I can at the front, and as long as I keep to the narrow alleyways, I will not encounter more resistance than I can defeat or manage to retreat from_.

_Fine_, Kilgharrah grunted, as he landed at the spot, where Mercury immediately jumped down from his back and moved to stand in front of his head, _but do not die, alright? You still owe you that payment, and I will not let something as silly as death stand in the way of that_.

Mercury scratched Kilgharrah at the spot, which Kilgharrah really much liked to be scratched at, before he said, _I will not die and leave you without your payment of three unrestricted wishes, which you can have me do at any time and any place, where I must do whatever you say without question or hesitance_.

_Good, I already have plans for at least two of those wishes_, Kilgharrah purred, and grinned in a way, which Mercury had learned to know as the dragon's version of a mischievous smile, before he lifted his head from the scratching and began to get ready to take off, but was stopped by Mercury's voice, halfway through his first flap with his wings.

_Hatchling..._, Mercury hesitantly and a little nervously said, _do not die out there. I would hate to have wasted 6 months of my life, taking care of and tutoring an arrogant prideful and very irritating dragon for no other reason, than to have you die the minute I let you out of my sight_.

Kilgharrah blinked once at Mercury, and then took off with his mighty wings and headed towards the gate, where his personal guard waited for him. Mercury watched him fly towards the gate, until he could no longer see him, because of the rooftops, and then slowly drew his sword, while thinking, _oh well, of to work_.

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In case any of you have ever read my second story, I should probably tell you that I do not hate Murtagh, but I, unfortunately for Murtagh lovers, often find it very convenient to kill him, and believe me Mercury has a very good reason to want to kill Murtagh instead of simply capturing him, although he might have killed him no matter what, because he would consider the energy needed to capture and restrain Murtagh to be a waste.

Oh, and thanks to Restrained. Freedom for the idea of using prisms for Kilgharrah's scales, although I had to change the idea a bit and have an outer lens direct the light into and out from the prism, so that it would actually work, but it was still a great idea.


	26. The battle goes on

This might be a teeny tiny bit longer than my usual chapters, but I did not want to spread this out, so I decided to just finish it in one chapter.**  
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**The battle goes on**

**Mercury POV  
**Mercury was deep behind enemy lines and completely alone. He had ambushed a few small patrols and groups of reinforcements for the front line, but had so far managed to avoid any larger battles and more importantly: detection.

Suddenly he heard loud yelling and the sounds of fighting coming from one of the nearby alleys, and as he moved to investigate, he discovered that a force of approximately 30-40 imperial soldiers had cornered around 50 Varden soldiers.

Although the Varden soldiers were superior in number, they seemed to lack any kind of organisation and leadership, so they were naturally being pushed back by the imperials. The Varden group would surely be destroyed if things were allowed to proceed as they were, but luckily for Mercury none of the groups had spotted him hiding in the shadows of an adjacent alley.

Mercury silently crept well behind the imperial line, after which he then started to run towards the back of the imperials without making a single sound. When he was still approximately 10 metres away from the imperials, he reached behind his black cloak with both of his hands, grabbed four of his shurikens and threw them at the back of the neck of the two outermost imperial soldiers at each side.

The shurikens hit their target with a small thud, which was soon followed by the clang of the dead imperials hitting the ground. The other nearby imperial soldiers did not even have time to react, before a decapitation strike slashed the necks of four more of the imperial soldiers, which had been in the middle of the back line.

Panic soon spread to the rest of the imperial soldiers, as they realized that they had come under attack from behind, but did not yet know by how large a force. Two more imperial soldiers died, as they were turning around, and the Varden soldiers at the front used the sudden panic and disorganization of the imperials to kill another five, which only made the imperials panic even more.

What had been intended as an easy cornering of a group of Varden soldiers, soon turned out to be a full scale slaughter for the imperials, as the Varden soldiers stormed the broken front line, while the back line had been decimated, and the troops in the middle were currently too occupied with dealing with this new threat to reinforce the front line, which soon after broke and left the middle soldiers completely defenceless, as they were trapped between a rock and a hard place, and then quickly joined their dead brethren.

"Thank you for the rescue, friend", one of the rescued Varden soldiers said, right after slewing the last imperial soldier.

"No need to thank me", Mercury said, as he began to search the dead corpses for his thrown shurikens, "now tell me, why you are here and where your commanders are? Because the last time I checked, the front line of the Varden was supposed to be at least another half a kilometre further towards the wall".

"Aye, we were ambushed earlier and lost both our commander and our second in command", the soldier spoke with sadness in his voice, "we knew not which way to go, so we ended up here, where we ran into that imperial force".

_Hmm, if I leave them, they are sure to die without proper command and direction, but I will not be as mobile if I take them with me_, Mercury mused to himself, _perhaps it is time that I took a more active role in this battle, instead of simply harassing the enemy from behind_.

After he had decided what to do, Mercury examined the state of the soldiers and their numbers, which he found to be 48, and noticed that all of them were also looking at him curiously, no doubt thanks to his strange sword and very unusual armour. He then cleared his throat, looked directly into the eyes of the soldier, which he had spoken to earlier, as he assumed that this was the temporary leader, and said, "you are currently leading this group, am I correct?"

"Yes, I am", came the soldier's a bit nervous answer.

"Good, then I am relieving you of your command and placing this group under my direct command", Mercury firmly stated, which he hoped would leave no room for arguments.

"What, you cannot just do that", a soldier from further behind the rest shouted. "Yeah, Frederic is leading us, we do not even know you", came another soldier's response, which was soon backed up by several similar exclamations.

Mercury gave an irritated sigh, before he eyed the ones who had started the shouting with his most intimidating glare, and said in an annoyed and slightly threatening voice, "your current command is ineffective, and as a result you were nearly wiped out. I know my way around here and is capable of properly leading you, so therefore I am taking command of you, or perhaps I should rather leave you here to perish as you see fit?", and as he said this, he noticed a movement in his peripheral vision.

One of the imperial soldiers had only pretended to be dead, and was now storming towards Mercury with his two-handed sword pointing straight at him. Mercury knew he would never have the time to draw his own sword again, so he quickly turned around, sidestepped the first strike, grabbed right under the soldier's hands with one hand, then with his other hand, he grabbed right under the man's elbow, moved his leg in front of the soldier's legs and used the soldier's own forward momentum to propel him up into the air and then slammed him down on his back a little further ahead. As the man was halfway done flying through the air, Mercury released the man's elbow and used his now free hand to grab his knife at his waist, and when the soldier landed on the ground with a big thump, Mercury stabbed the knife into the soldier's throat, which effectively killed him with a gurgling sound emanating from the throat.

All of this had taken place in less than two seconds, and as Mercury withdrew his knife from the man's throat, he looked at the stunned Varden soldiers and said in an intimidating voice, "any further questions?"

It took a few seconds for anyone to speak, but then Frederic broke the silence by saying, "what are your orders, sir?"

_Finally_, Mercury mused to himself, _two parts respect and one part fear really does make for the best command styles_.

"I want everyone to line up in four rows", Mercury said in a clear and commanding voice, "are there anyone proficient with bows or crossbows among you, or any mages for that matter?"

A few hands went up in question to the bows, but no mages were with the group, so Mercury continued in his commanding voice, "I want you six as archers. You three will walk at the houses on our left side and you three on the right. Each side will have an archer forward in our column, one at the middle and one at the back. Your objectives are to scan the rooftops opposite from you for enemies, but the first and middle archers must also be ready to fire at our front on a seconds warning, and the same for the back archers, who will also make sure that we are not surprised by attacks in our back", Mercury then divided the remaining forces into groups of ten, with the exception of the first and last group, who had eleven soldiers, "you eleven will be first squad and are lead by Frederic, which will receive his orders from me. You ten will be second squad and is to be lead by that man", Mercury continued this until he had established four squads, with the first and fourth being comprised of eleven soldiers, and then made the first squad form the first lines in the column, followed by the second squad, then the fourth squad and lastly the third squad, while the chosen archers were at each side of the column and were covering their opposite side.

"Move out men!", Mercury shouted from the front of the column, and received a loud, "Aye, sir", from everyone behind him, after which they began to move forward, while still keeping in formation.

After marching for about 10 minutes, Mercury spotted a large force of imperial soldiers near a junction, while his force was in a relatively narrow alleyway, which would only allow for seven soldiers to be confronting the enemy in the width.

"Archers!", Mercury shouted, and a second later four arrows imbedded themselves into the sides of imperial soldiers, who only then spotted the Varden soldiers, but before they had time to regroup and raise their shields in defence of the arrow attacks, another four arrows hit their marks.

"Front archers, withdraw a few lines back", Mercury commanded, "First squad, form a defensive line in the front. Fourth squad, form a secondary defensive line behind first squad. Third and second squad, prepare to advance through the ranks of first and fourth squad", and as he said his orders, the men followed them, although with some hesitation.

The enemy force soon clashed into first squad, and as they did so, Mercury could more efficiently count their numbers, which he estimated to be around 80-90 soldiers, but due to the small alley, they could not effectively use this number superiority to their advantage.

First squad was soon pushed a bit back, and Mercury knew that if it continued this way, then the enemies would win through sheer numbers, so he quickly ordered the commanders from second, third and fourth squad to his position among third and second squad.

He then looked the commanders directly into the eyes, and said in a tone, which left no room for questioning, "I want fourth squad to be ready to form a new defensive line in front of first squad and tell first squad to rest behind your line until needed. Third and second squad are to advance on the enemy when their lines are disrupted and confusion spreads. Am I clear?"

"Aye, sir", the commanders said in unison, but then the commander of third squad said, "what will cause the disruption, sir?"

Mercury grinned evilly at the commander, while he sheathed his sword on his back, then turned both of the buttons, which were locking his arm-blades into place, threw his arms down, so that the blades sprung forth and said in an intimidating voice, "me".

Mercury then did something, which neither the commanders nor the enemy had anticipated, he ran as fast as he could towards the front line, but instead of meeting the fighting soldiers there, he jumped up and continued to run on the vertical surface of the buildings in the alley, which he could do because he secretly used his magic to tie his feet to the wall each time they met its surface.

The front imperial soldiers all looked up at him in disbelief, but the front Varden soldiers did not, as they could not see him until he had run way past them, so they quickly slew the confused soldiers ahead of them, which then caused the rest of the squads to follow their given orders and attack the confused imperial soldiers.

Mercury ran on the wall until he was three fourths through the enemy lines, after which he then pushed himself off from the wall and dove straight into the middle of the imperial line, where his two arm-blades quickly stabbed the two soldiers, who also cushioned his fall, in their chest.

Mercury then quickly spun around with his arms as wide as he could, and managed to slash the throats of another six soldiers, before the rest understood what was going on and formed a wide circle around him.

Three soldiers attacked with swords from three different angles, but not at the exact same time, so Mercury used his left blade to deflect the first attack towards the third attacker, who then had to parry his friend's attack, and in the meantime used left foot to kick the second attacker's sword away from its path, before he used his right blade to quickly stab the man's throat.

The other two attackers had been too confused by having to parry each other's weapons, to manage to regain their stances, so Mercury quickly stabbed the first soldier in the back with his right blade and then stabbed the third soldier in the side, which did not kill him, but it did incapacitate him.

A handheld spear whistled past Mercury's head right as he killed the two men, but the man holding the spear's aim had been off, so the attack did not hit. Mercury quickly grabbed the end of the spear and pulled at it, which surprised the man holding it, so much that he stumbled and fell to the ground, where his skull was soon split open by one of Mercury's blades.

Mercury kept holding onto the spear as another five men, which were wielding swords, entered the circle, but they were kept at bay for a moment by the long ranger of the spear, which Mercury had taken, before he tried to throw the spear at one of the men, but since Mercury had never learned to properly wield a spear, his aim was off and the spear fell harmlessly to the ground.

_I cannot keep doing this. Why have my forces not pushed through yet?_, Mercury warily thought to himself, before he leaped towards a lone swordsman, so that he attacked him from above, then pushed the soldier's sword away with his right blade, and stabbed him with his left, before he used the soldier's body to leap further into the air, where he turned in midair and threw another three shurikens at the four remaining swordsmen, but only two managed to kill their targets, as the third was stopped by a shield, before Mercury landed in the middle of the circle again.

Mercury was now panting slightly from exhaustion, whereas the soldier, who had blocked his shuriken with his shield, was grinning evilly at him, before he charged at him with his fellow at his side.

The second swordsman was not very well trained, so Mercury was able to kick his legs away from under him, before he deflected the blow from the more experienced soldier. The experienced soldier was however surprised when Mercury used his left blade to push the soldier's sword the side, and then used his right blade to get under his shield and push it to the other side, before Mercury plunged both his blades into the chest of the man, which made the man replace his evil grin with a gasp of surprise.

The reason behind Mercury's ability to block, deflect and push other people's weapons away, was that when he was able to get in close with his blades, he was able to much faster and much more efficiently move his blades around, than the long blades of the swords or the spears were, and because his blades were secured to his entire forearm, he could use much more force without having to concentrate on holding onto his blade, and then there was also the fact that the people of Alagaësia had never seen this type of fighting, so they did not know how to respond and what to fear, whereas Mercury knew how their fighting styles worked.

By this time, complete panic had spread throughout the imperial lines, as they were being decimated by the advancing forces of second and third squad, while nearly a quarter of their men had been killed by Mercury alone. Mercury took a quick glance behind him and saw that the back of the circle had turned around to face his advancing forces, which he quickly used to kill another three of them, before the rest were slaughtered by his men.

The few remaining imperial soldiers, who had been at the back of their force, were now running in a full retreat, but they were soon killed by a few well placed spears from some of the soldiers of second and third squad.

As the Varden soldiers approached him, Mercury forced his breathing to calm down, although his heart was still racing, so that the men would not see how tired he truly was, and said in the usual commanding voice, "alright men, we have won this battle against a force nearly twice as large as ours, but more still await, so I want fourth squad to take the lead from now on, while first squad will covers our rear, and second and third squad recovers in the middle. You have five minutes to drink a few drops of water and eat, before we move out again".

During the rest, Mercury helped to bandage some of his wounded men, count their and the imperials' casualties, and kill any imperial soldiers, which were still alive on the ground. They had lost a total of 13 men in this battle, with first squad being hit the hardest by six casualties, but in Mercury's mind 13 losses was not a large price to pay, when they had managed to kill 93 enemy soldiers.

Although the rest was not over yet, Mercury still called three of his archers towards him and said, "I want you three to climb up on the rooftops and see if you can spot any enemy forces, friendly forces or anything else of interest and then report directly back to me", to which he received an, "aye, sir", from them all.

When they came back, they reported that they had seen a few enemy forces battling some Varden soldiers towards the north, some larger enemy forces to the east, a few small solitary groups of no more than 5-10 Varden soldiers to the west, and the major front line of the Varden to the south.

After considering their information, Mercury roused everyone and shouted, "The break is up. We are going to replenish our force with some minor isolated Varden forces to the west, where most will go to first squad, before we move northeast and help out other groups, which are trapped and are fighting the imperials".

This time there were no hesitance when the groups moved into formation, and Mercury even heard a few mumble, "the commander is even worse than Stronghammer. Even he would not have been crazy enough to make a stunt like that, and then come out unscathed, while looking like he had just taken a peaceful walk", to which someone replied, "aye, I do not know whether to respect him or fear him, but I surely will not dare to disobey him".

_Good, I have their complete obedience_, Mercury mused to himself, as he marched with his forces to pick up lost Varden forces, _and when I regroup with those new forces, then they will quickly get in line, because I have way more men than any of their commanders, and as long as I make sure to only pick up a few forces at a time, they should not question my authority_.

Mercury's forces had finished with picking up stragglers and now numbered 83 men, but had not yet found any magicians to help them. A fifth squad had been added with each squad now counting approximately 15 soldiers, and two more archers had been posted in the middle sections of the column. Only a few people had initially resisted to let Mercury be the commander of the force, where some of them actually held the rank of captain, but each and everyone had been given Mercury's most intimidating stare combined with a not so slightly threatening speech, which had left most of them wanting to run away screaming, but had at the same time been rooted in place by his merciless stare.

"Was it really wise to do that to the officers?", Frederic asked Mercury, as they marched northeast through the city, "at one point, I actually thought one of them was going to start crying".

"It was effective, and if they are going to complain, then they can do so after the battle, provided that we actually win", Mercury simply stated, which ended that conversation, but in his own head, he continued, _besides that is the only way I know how to make people follow my orders. It worked just as effective during my school groups, but back then I had to use way less effective threats to make the group obey. I wonder why they kept wanting to be in group with me? It might have been that my groups were always functioning as a well oiled machine, and most often getting way better results than the rest._

During the next half hour, Mercury's forces ran into a few enemy groups, but none were as large as the first group, which they had run into, and due to their additional numbers, casualties were limited, but then as they were walking up a rather large road, which required three squads to form a proper defensive line across, they encountered a larger force, which Mercury estimated to approximately 150 enemy soldiers.

"Your orders, sir?", Frederic asked, as Mercury met with the commanders of his squads.

Mercury quickly eyed the battlefield, the enemy numbers and their general organisation, and then his own forces, before he crouched down on the ground and quickly began to draw his battle plan on it.

"Take second and third squad and guard our flanks, while fifth squad gets the middle", Mercury said, as he visually showed his plan on the map on the ground, "then have first and fourth squad stand directly behind second and third squad, but have the soldiers face the middle of the road instead of the front. I then want fifth squad to feign to be pushed back, and make sure to draw as many enemy forces into this hole as possible, before first and fourth squad attacks the enemies in both their flanks at my signal. Further orders will come after this is done".

"Aye, sir", came the commanders reply in perfect unison, before they instructed their squads on what to do.

_Well, here is to see just how much I can use all my hours playing the Total War games_, Mercury mused to himself, as he prepared for the upcoming battle.

The battle went even better than Mercury could have hoped, because the enemy commanders apparently thought that the sudden gap in the Varden lines were the start of the complete breakdown of their entire line, so they sent almost all of their forces through the hole, which were then taken completely off guard, as their entire force was attacked in both of their flanks, while fifth squad steadily held firm at their front, and because they used so much of their entire force to push through, second and third squad were able to kill the few enemies still attacking themselves, after which second squad swung round and attacked the primary enemy force in the rear, while third squad guarded second squad's rear from the few enemy stragglers, who had chosen not to rush into the gap.

When the battle was over, Mercury counted the enemy dead to be 143, while his own casualties had been severely lessened by the idiotic leadership of the enemy force, so that the Varden only lost seven of their men, which, combined with previous losses from the small skirmishes from before, reduced Mercury's forces to only 67 men.

It was while Mercury was letting his forces rest and was cleaning up after the battle that Mercury felt something, which he had desperately hoped not to feel at all: his wards protecting Kilgharrah had been activated, which Mercury had only designed them be when all other wards around Kilgharrah had been depleted or broken.

_No, they should not be activated_, Mercury thought to himself with a bit of fear creeping into his mind, _he had 10 elves and a large force of urgalgra and men with him, so that must mean that his protection force is either completely dead or close to it. Judging from his wards, he should only be a few hundred metres east of us_.

"I know you are tired men, but we must move out faster than anticipated and help our greatest hope in the battle outside the castle", Mercury shouted, which roused his men, before he gathered the commanders and said, "we move through that alley, and then take the first turn to our left. I want fifth squad to remain at that junction and form a defensive line, so that we will not be attacked in the rear. If fifth squad is about to be overrun, I want you to send a fast messenger to me, and then fall back until you meet up with us again".

"Aye, sir", the commanders said, before Frederic asked, "sir, what is the hope, which we are supposed to rescue, and how do you know of it?"

Mercury looked Frederic directly into his eyes and said, "you will find out soon enough, and I have my own ways of ascertaining this knowledge", which silenced any further questions and made sure that Mercury's ability to use magic did not become common knowledge, even among his own forces.

Before long, Mercury's forces reached a large marketplace, where the men gasped as they for the first time saw a deep royal purple coloured dragon, although many of the scales were covered in blood, and his remaining force of a few elves, a small group of kull and perhaps 10-15 men.

None of the fighting parties had noticed the arrival of Mercury's forces, so Mercury allowed himself to survey the battlefield for a moment, before he would form his battle plan. At the rooftops were about 20 archers firing down on Kilgharrah and his few remaining forces, while a larger force of perhaps 500-550 men were attacking them head on, but from the amount of dead bodies on the ground, Mercury guessed that the enemy force had started out with at least ten times that number.

"Listen up, because I will only say this once", Mercury said in a hushed tone, so that he did not alert the enemy to their presence, "our primary mission objective is the rescue of the dragon, our secondary is to salvage as much of the force assigned to protect him as possible. I will lead first squad around the enemies and cut a path through their rear, while second squad covers our rear, fourth squad then attacks the enemy in their rear and third squad remains as reserves to back up any group, who is about to be overrun. The archers will take cover among the market stalls and begin to pick off the archers on the rooftops. This should enable us to move the dragon and his forces around our fighting line and down through the alley, from which we came. After that, I will fall back with first squad and we will then make a controlled withdrawal to the alley, while the archers cover us. Remember, this is not a winnable battle, so do not try to push through their lines, but merely keep them occupied, and if we are lucky we can retreat back to fifth squad with only minimal casualties".

"Will they not pursue us, sir?", the commander of fourth squad asked.

"I have a plan for that, but I need the dragon alive and well to complete that plan", Mercury simply stated, while he drew his sword, and then moved his men into position.

"On my mark...CHARGE!", Mercury shouted, and as one all of the squads charged and the archers began to fire, which took the imperial soldiers completely by surprise, and enabled Mercury and first squad to cut through the enemy lines and relieve Kilgharrah and his defenders.

"Well met Ensom Vandrer...or should I call you the guardian or some other name?", the elf Laurali tiredly but happily said, as he and his remaining elves were able to rest behind the lines of first squad.

"We can talk about that later", Mercury snapped at the elf, before he chopped off the head of the enemy soldier, which he had been fighting, "right now I need you to take your forces and Kilgharrah, and move behind our lines and towards the alley over there".

_What about you? I will not leave you to die, while I flee as a coward_, Kilgharrah's voice reverberated through Mercury's mind.

_I will have my forces withdraw as soon as I know you are safe_, Mercury quickly said, before adding, _stay near the beginning of the alley. I have a plan to ensure our retreat_.

Kilgharrah grudgingly did as he was told, and when they saw their dragon do as he was asked, the few of his remaining forces did too. Upon seeing that the dragon had reached the alley, Mercury withdrew first squad and fell back to the alley with what remained of his remaining squads.

"Squad one to four, escort the remaining protection force towards fifth squad, where you will regroup. The archers will remain here", Mercury ordered his men, who obeyed with a single, "aye, sir", before they took the protection force and moved out.

_Hatchling, use your tail to smash the houses on either side of this alley. The rubble must be high enough to form a temporary wall, which will then give us the time needed to escape_, Mercury quickly said to the panting dragon.

_It will take time to form a wall high enough_, Kilgharrah stated.

"I know", Mercury said out loud, which only made the archers raise an eyebrow in question, but otherwise remain silent, before he added, "archers, cover me as I block the enemy forces, while our escape is secured", after which Mercury moved in front of where he wanted the wall to be, and took a fighting stance.

Behind him, he could hear Kilgharrah start to tear down buildings behind him, and as he saw the first 10 men move towards him at the entrance, he heard the whistling of arrows passing by him, which was quickly followed by a few thuds and some groans, as eight of the 10 men fell forward with arrows in their chests and necks.

A quick block and slash with his sword killed another soldier, before he used the confusion of the second to knee him in his solar plexus and then cut his back open. Another 20 men soon approached, but due to the small width of the alley, only seven could walk in at a time.

Arrows whistled by Mercury, as he continued to stall the imperial soldiers' advance into the alley. Mercury knew that without the cover of his archers, he would have been overrun in minutes, given the less than fortunate surroundings, but a constant rain of arrows really helped to even things up.

As the monotone fighting dragged on, Mercury's mind began wander, _I think I am a bit hungry at the moment, but not really that much. What I would not give to get a crème brûlée right now...or a piece of cheesecake. Oh, how I wish that I could make one here, but I do not think they even have the required ingredients on the continent_, Mercury's musings was interrupted by the whistle of an enemy arrow flying only a few centimetres next to his head, ..._or perhaps I should just focus on the battle instead of desserts_.

As Mercury's mind returned to the battle, he noticed the absence of arrows pinning themselves into the imperial soldiers, so he assumed that the wall had reached a height great enough to halt his archers' continued support, which just made his task all that more difficult.

During the next few minutes the imperial soldiers seemed to notice this as well, so they stormed forth with new courage and ferocity, which slowly but surely drove Mercury back towards his own wall. A small growl escaped him as five soldiers encircled him, which seemed to startle the soldiers enough to allow Mercury to slip past the defences of two of them and kill them.

He jumped back just in time to avoid being cut open from the side, but then managed to cut off the arm of the soldier, who had attacked him, before he was forced to block a strike from another soldier, and then retreat to his previous position.

_The wall is finished_, Kilgharrah said in his mind.

_Good, take the archers and regroup with the rest of my forces. They are now yours_, Mercury said, before he added, _I cannot both keep them at bay and climb this_, and then closed his mind off from Kilgharrah.

_It was not exactly the way I had planned this to go_, Mercury mused to himself, as he prepared to go down fighting, _all my hopes now lie with Eragon. I sure hope he does not fail me_.

It was then that a deafening roar reverberated through the air, which effectively stopped the enemies in their tracks, before they were incinerated before Mercury's very eyes by a crystal clear torrent of flames. Mercury looked up to the top of the wall, where he saw a great deep royal purple dragon sitting on the top, while he was spewing flames at the approaching enemies.

_Those two-legs would have never stopped bickering about who should lead them if you died, so get up here already_, Kilgharrah quickly commanded, which Mercury quickly obeyed without question.

Soon after, Mercury, Kilgharrah and the archers were marching back through the alley, where they would meet up with the remaining forces.

_I see you have finally learned to spew flames_, Mercury stated, as they marched.

_Yes, they are quite beautiful, are they not?_, Kilgharrah proudly stated.

_That they are_, Mercury confirmed, before they arrived at the rendezvous point, where his squads immediately formed ranks, whereas what remained of Kilgharrah's protection force stood isolated to the side. Mercury eyed his own dwindling supply of men, the battle had taken at least half of the men, which he had brought with him, but it did not matter as long as Kilgharrah was safe.

With a small grin and a wave towards Kilgharrah, Mercury spoke, "men, meet Kilgharrah. Kilgharrah, meet your new protection force".

"Wait, that is our job!", one of the four remaining elves exclaimed.

Mercury eyed the elf, who had spoken, with a scrutinizing look, while he said, "your forces are diminished and incapable of properly protecting him, so I have decided to merge your force into mine. I WILL be commanding this force and you WILL obey me, is that understood?"

The elf looked ready to object, but he was stopped by Laurali's hand on his shoulder, after which they spoke together for a few moments in the Ancient language, before the elf finally looked at Mercury and said, "we accept your leadership for now".

"Good, now listen up humans. Due to recent losses I want fifth squad and what remains of Kilgharrah's human defenders to spread themselves out among squad one to four", Mercury spoke out loud and clear towards the human soldiers, before directing his attention towards the elves, "you elves will be my magician corps and are to set a few wards against magic around the rest, not to mention snuff out any enemy magicians that we encounter", before he directed his attention towards the kull, "all remaining kull will be-".

"The urgalgra does not recognize your ability to lead us", one of the outstanding kull loudly said and interrupted Mercury.

An irritated sigh escaped Mercury, before he quietly went to stand directly in front of the kull, which was towering a staggering 2.8 metres, and said, "I guess you want a test of strength, am I right?"

The giant kull looked down and in his own guttural accent, he said, "You are".

"Good then", Mercury said with an evil grin, before he quickly stepped to the side, put one foot in front of the kull's feet, grabbed the kull's arm with one hand and the kull's back with his other hand, and then pushed the kull of his feet and headfirst to the ground, where he quickly held the arm in such an angle that he would be able to hold it there with minimal effort, while the kull would have excruciating pain if he moved the arm but a fraction.

"Submit", Mercury hissed into the kull's ear.

"You cheated", the very angry kull managed to hiss out.

"You challenged me to a fight, so I simply started it", Mercury growled back, before he added in a deadly whisper, "now submit or I will kill you right here and now for insubordination".

The kull growled for a moment, before he finally obliged and submitted to Mercury's rule, after which Mercury let him stand again, and then brushed off dirt from his own armour, while he in a calm voice said, "now that that is out of the way, I will continue as before. All remaining kull will now become fifth squad and are to be lead by that kull over there, who receives his orders directly from me. Have everyone understood their orders?"

"Aye, sir", came the unified shout from the humans, the elves followed with an, "we hear and obey", before the kull finally grumbled, "understood".

Mercury let his eyes roam across his forces, before he settled his attention on his magician corps, "elves I need you to contact the main force of the Varden, and ask them how things are going there, and whether there are any strategic objectives within our vicinity. I would have done so myself, but none of them knows me, and they would not let me into their minds. The rest of you can rest in the meantime".

A moment later one of the elves came up to Mercury and whispered into his ear, "the queen has deployed her elite forces to deal with a titan of a man called Lord Barst in the grand market. The rest of the main force is there as well, but the battle is going ill"

"Understood", Mercury whispered back, "have her know that I will be leading this force to attack them from behind, but ask whether she knows of any smaller Varden forces isolated near the vicinity of our route there", before he cleared his throat, which gained the attention of his forces, and in a loud and commanding force said, "Break-time is over people. We move out to assist our primary army in what will most likely be the deciding battle. For the Varden, for your people, for VICTORY!", after which he silently added to himself, _v__ictory, hmrf! Even if the Varden beats the Empire's army with but a single casulty, their fate would still be doomed if Eragon lost, but I suppose that it would not motivate them greatly if I told them that_.

Twenty minutes later Mercury's forces arrived at the grand market. They had rescued a few groups of stragglers on the way there, so Mercury had been able to expand his squads to encompass 20 men each, except for fifth squad, who still only had the nine kull from Kilgharrah's original protection force, and he had expanded his archery division by another four archers, which gave them a total number of 12 archers.

Mercury quickly scanned the battle to be able to form a temporary battle plan. The grand market truly was a huge market place, where thousands upon thousands of men were currently fighting in an area, which easily measured half a kilometre in both width and length. The primary battle seemed to resemble that of a straight line going from one end of the grand market to the other, with the exception of an isolated group of Varden warriors, which were riding under the royal elven banner, that seemed to have been cut from the main Varden force and were currently fighting someone, which Mercury could only assume was Lord Barst, because this man seemed to be able to not only match the elves in speed and strength, but even surpass them. On either flank of the fighting line, the fighting seemed to be somewhat even, but in the centre the Varden had been hard pressed and would soon collapse, if something was not done quickly.

"Commanders, listen up", Mercury said in a hushed tone, which was to avoid having the enemy accidentally discovering them beforehand, "I want the archers to fire a volley at the centre of the line at my signal. Fifth squad will then take charge and storm straight through the enemy lines, while second and third squad covers their left flank, while first and fourth squad will cover their right flank. I want to cut a direct and open passage through the enemy lines, so squad one to four will remain at their positions and protect the passage, while the Varden's centre force will be able to use this passage to move through and surround the enemy lines. After the passage is established, I will personally lead fifth squad to aid the isolated elven queen. Elves, I need you to relay this information to the appropriate commanders on the other side and afterward continue with your primary objectives. Have everyone understood their orders?"

"Aye, sir", came the hushed reply, before Kilgharrah privately asked Mercury, _what should I do then?_

Mercury let a small smile creep onto his lips, as he in a partly amused voice said, _I believe it would be a shame, if it were only me who should witness the beauty of your flames, would you not agree?_, and then sent a picture of Kilgharrah making a quick flyover of the enemy line, while burning most of it to the ground.

_I most sincerely would_, came Kilgharrah's way too happy reply, before he launched himself into the air.

"Archers, take aim...FIRE!", Mercury shouted and immediately heard the whistling of arrows flying towards their target, before the trampling sound of nine kull in a full frontal charge noised out everything else, and made the very ground rumble beneath Mercury's feet.

Only some from the Empire's rear line soldiers managed to actually turn around with complete dread clear on their faces, before they were run over by the seemingly unstoppable force of kull warriors. Anyone still alive was quickly stabbed, cut, slashed or simply trampled to death by the four squads, which were using the new opening to push into the enemy lines and sow confusion and panic among them.

Mercury himself was running as fast as he could to keep up with the kull warriors, but not nearly fast enough, so he was forced to fight against any stragglers, who had survived the initial charge. To his right, he could hear the screaming of burning men, and guessed that Kilgharrah was already making good of his new talent, which oddly enough managed to get Mercury to chuckle a little at the dragon's sense of having fun.

_I think I should probably see a psychiatrist about my sudden development of a morbid sense of humour_, Mercury mused to himself, before he cut off the right leg of one soldier, then kicked another in the nuts, before he plunged his sword into the back of a third, while he continually became more and more soaked in the blood of imperial soldiers, _on the other hand. My new morbid sense of humour might be the least of the things, which I probably should talk to a psychiatrist about. On a not completely unrelated topic, I really should talk to a mage about a spell, which could render my armour water- and bloodproof, as I am already dreading to clean this_.

Third and fourth squad finally caught up with him, and together they paved the way through the few remaining enemies, before third and fourth squad went to each side and continued to hold off the enemies, while hundreds of the Varden soldiers of the centre force poured through the newly opened passageway and began to encircle the left flank, because no one wished to be near the right flank, where Kilgharrah was still burning and spreading chaos.

Mercury was panting slightly from the run and subsequent fighting, but he could not wait to regain his breath, so he quickly found his fifth squad, who had lost two kull during the charge, and said in what he hoped was a steady voice, "fifth squad, you are with me".

_It truly must be a strange sight to see a 1.8 metre human lead seven kull of more than 2.7 metres in height to battle_, Mercury mused to himself, as he sprinted to elven queen's aid with his sword raised high, and seven kull forming a spearhead formation behind him.

They clashed with Barst's personal forces, and soon began to slaughter the unsuspecting men. Blood splattered everywhere and entrails flew through the air, like snowflakes on a winter day. From the corner of his eyes, Mercury could see Barst killing another elf, before he turned his attention towards Islanzadi. Their fighting was too fast for Mercury's eyes to follow, but he just continued to push through the enemies standing between him and them.

Right as Mercury slew the last man between him and them, he saw something, which made his breath catch in his throat: Barst had just broken Islanzadi's sword with his mace, which had sent her sprawling on the ground, and he was just about to give her the final strike.

_No!_, Mercury angrily thought, before he threw a shuriken at the tip of Barst's mace, which deflected the mace's course just enough to miss the elven queen's head by mere centimetres, and then bury itself deep into the ground.

Barst snarled, ripped his mace from the ground and turned around faster than Mercury had thought possible for even an elf, before he in a clearly angry voice said, "you dare to attack me in the back".

_Oh crap, I should have had a plan now_, Mercury thought to himself with a little bit of fear mixing into his internal voice, before he in an external mocking voice said, "are you not a little too fat to be a commander?", while he simultaneously caught Islanzadi's gaze and hopefully conveyed with his eyes for her to get out of here, while he had Barst's attention.

The ruse seemed to work, because a moment later Barst threw himself towards Mercury with a loud yell and a wide swing of his mace. Mercury only just managed to duck and roll under the mace, before he stood behind Barst, who impossibly quickly turned around with his mace flying through the air. Mercury's last thoughts, before Barst's mace hit his sword head on, were, _you just had to piss off the guy taking down elves as if they are nothing. Why not just go up and kick Shruikan on the snout, while you are at it_.

Right as Barst's mace met Mercury's sword, time seemed to move slower, and Mercury witnessed with shock how Barst's mace broke his katana's blade in half, which then sent Mercury flying through the air, and made him land directly into the now reformed personal guard of Islanzadi.

"My sword", Mercury groaned, as he began to raise himself from the toppled elves, only to look upon the handle and half of the broken blade of his once so perfect katana. From his peripheral vision, he noted that Barst were moving towards them at a leisurely pace with a large grin on his face.

_I need time to rethink this_, Mercury warily thought to himself, before his eyed spotted the seven remaining kull of fifth squad standing in the perimeter of the circle. "Fifth squad, charge!", Mercury shouted, but the normally so courageous and threatening kull seemed less than inclined to take on a man, who had singlehandedly beaten several of the strongest elven warriors.

Mercury growled at this, before he in his most threatening voice said, "fifth squad, if you do not charge, then I will personally make sure that none of you leave this place alive and that all urgalgra, who survives this war, will hear of your cowardice and dishonour to your tribe".

The threat seemed to work, despite the fact that Mercury probably would not be able to make true of it, and with a large warcry, the seven kull charged at Barst, who although greatly surprised, seemed to be able to hold them off.

A few of Islanzadi's personal guards charged as well, which bought Mercury some more time and the ability to finally speak with the elven queen and commander.

"Why have you not just crushed his mind?", Mercury asked the still slightly confused queen.

"We cannot find it. It is hidden behind a shield, which we cannot break", Islanzadi spoke and regained her usual commanding attitude.

Mercury took a quick look at the battle behind him: three of the kull had already died and one of the elves as well, before he surveyed the surrounding area for possible advantages and possibilities. One place sprung to his attention: the corner of the grand market had three buildings leaning into it, which could collapse onto one spot if the foundation was weakened properly.

"Do you have any hope of breaking his wards?", Mercury bluntly asked Islanzadi, to which she replied with a slightly defeated, "not that I know of".

"I have a plan, but I need your elves to weaken the foundation of those buildings there, but not so much that they fall right away", Mercury quickly said and pointed out the buildings, "if we can draw Barst into that area, then the rubble of the falling building should hopefully be enough to either severely weaken or even break his wards, after which I will need all of our remaining forces here to move in and finish him".

"It will take time and complete concentration from my elves to do that, but it could work", Islanzadi spoke with a glimmer of hope in her voice, "but how will we ensure that this beast of a man or his soldiers does not simply wipe us out in the meantime?"

"My kull and the remaining humans will protect you from the soldiers, while you work", Mercury said, while he fiddled with the buttons on his bracers, "I will delay the Lord Barst for the required time".

"But your sword-", Islanzadi started, but was interrupted by Mercury, "I have more", before he threw his arms down and let his blades spring forth.

"Fifth squad and all remaining humans, pull back and protect the elves. Elves, your queen has new orders for you", Mercury spoke out loudly, before continuing in a taunting voice, "Barst, what do you say about taking round two?"

The elves, humans and kull quickly did as they were told, which left Barst eyeing Mercury again, before he started to laugh at this 'challenge', and said, "I see you have more blades than one. I wonder how many I will break before this day is over".

"Let us find out, shall we?", Mercury spoke, before he started to run through some market stalls towards the still laughing Barst.

Barst readied his mace to smash this head on approach, but as he began to swing it, Mercury jumped with his feet first towards the stalls on his right, which he then used to push himself up so that he could grab the roof of the left stalls and make a cartwheel around Barst, which ended in Mercury landing with both his feet on Barst's back, which he then used to push off from and do a backwards summersault, while he threw two shurikens at Barst, which unfortunately incinerated before they hit their mark, and then landed a few metres behind Barst, who had toppled over for a moment.

"You will pay for that insult", Barst growled through his clenched teeth, as he stood up again and turned around. Mercury noted how he was practically shaking with fury, which made him think, _good, now I have his attention_, before he in a mocking voice said, "not with that potbelly. You could not even catch a cow if it tried to run away from you".

The insult seemed to work, because Barst soon charged directly at Mercury, who quickly used the tight space between two stalls to escape from the onslaught, before he ran towards the side buildings of the grand market.

Barst smashed the two stalls away from his path, and then continued to try and run Mercury down, which he did when Mercury apparently ran straight towards a dead end wall. Barst continued his charge at Mercury, clearly hoping to crush the irritating little blackclad warrior, who had insulted him, but to Barst's complete surprise, Mercury did not even slow down as he reached the wall. Instead Mercury seemed to speed up and then apparently run up on the straight wall, before he pushed off with his feet at about 2 metres up the wall, and landed behind Barst, who could not stop his own momentum and crashed headfirst into the wall.

Barst however quickly regained himself and withdrew from the wall, which had gained an imprint of him on it, and snarled in rage, before he again continued his pursuit of Mercury.

This cat and mouse play went on for at least 15 minutes more, where Mercury often only narrowly dodged Barst's attacks. Mercury had used two more shurikens during this time, and quickly made a mental note to himself, that he only had one ordinary shuriken left and then his four special shurikens from Orik, which he would prefer not to waste on Barst, unless his plan with the buildings did not work.

Mercury was currently jumping from the rooftops of one stall to the next or the opposite, while Barst used his mace to smash the stalls, which Mercury had just been on. _Go to another world, they say. It will be fun, they say. You will get to meet completely new people and places, they say. Why could I not just have done as everyone else, and just begun on paragliding or some other extreme kind of sport_, Mercury thought to himself, while he only narrowly managed to slipped past Barst's mace, as he jumped down to the ground, and kicked Barst off his feet in the process, before he added in an amused inner voice, _nah, I have not been this entertained in ages. Hmm, it must be the adrenaline speaking, because if my rational mind was viewing this, it would have screamed at me to get the hell out of here_.

As he thought this, he noticed an elven mind request entry to his own mind, which he only hesitantly obliged to.

_Yes?_, Mercury hastily spoke, while he turned and did a pirouette, which caused his cloak to temporarily blind Barst enough to let Mercury slip past him.

_The preparations are complete_, Islanzadi's musical voice spoke through Mercury's mind.

_Good, I will lead him there. Let the buildings fall on my signal, and then attack with everything we have left_, Mercury said as quickly as he could, but Mercury did not cut off the connection from the elven queen after finishing, because he needed to be able to quickly have her make the order, and from her mind, he sensed that she was connected to several other elves, which would no doubt be ready to let the buildings fall at her command.

Through taunting and a planned series of escapes, Mercury quickly managed to position Barst in the chosen spot. Unfortunately for Mercury, this also involved having Barst believe that he had cornered Mercury in this corner of the grand market, so that Mercury's only way out was through him.

"Now I have got you, you little insolent coward", Barst said with an evil grin.

"Oh, do you? Because I believe the hunter has just become the hunted", Mercury said in a smug voice, while he mentally screamed, _NOW!_

The three buildings quickly began to topple forwards, which caught Barst's attention, so that he did not realize that Mercury had jumped with all his might, and a little bit of magic, so that he could reach an open window on the second story of the building, which he had been leaning at. He then managed to get through the window of the falling building, and continued to try to make his way towards the other side of it, which became harder and harder as the building continued to fall, which turned his run more and more into a climb. On the way there he faintly noted a crying woman cradling her screaming infant baby, while two children, which could be no more than 10, were holding onto each of her legs.

Mercury just managed to reach the other side of the building, when the building had basically turned so much that the walls had become the floors and the floors had become the walls, but to his dismay, there was no windows there, so he only just managed to channel what remained of the energy in his dwarven ring, which he had been storing up for six months now and had previously used to sustain his continued escape from Barst, and blast a hole in the wall, which he only narrowly escaped through, before the building completely collapsed on top of Barst.

_That was not so hard_, Mercury thought to himself, while brushing off some dirt from his armour, immediately before his supply of adrenalin completely ran out, and he fell asleep standing.

* * *

Wow, to think that I had originally only planned for one chapter to encompass most of this, as well as the previous chapter. I sure did underestimate how much work it would take to properly write this, but here it is then, 21 pages in word.

So, what do you think about Mercury's command style. I thought the style would suit him well, but I seriously doubt that he could ever be loved/admired by his subordinates, as he controls them through a mixture of fear and respect, which also is why I desperately hope that he never gets a royal title and land with subjects.

Oh and btw, if Mercury had had to continue his flight from Barst for perhaps another 10 minutes, then he would have run out of energy from his dwarven ring and simply collapsed from the loss of all of his adrenalin, whereas Barst could have probably continued this all day.


	27. The plan unfolds

**The plan unfolds**

**Mercury POV**  
Mercury felt nothing but the blissfulness of sleep in what could have been anything from two minutes to two hours, but that quickly changed when a sharp pain from his right cheek awoke him. As his eyes started to open, he distinguished the shape of some person's head looking down upon him, and as his eyes adjusted to the light, he thought that he could see a mass of brown curly hair encompassing the head.

"It was about time you woke from your little nap", the person, who Mercury now recognized by her voice to be Angela, said.

"How long was I out?", Mercury groaned, as he started to sit up, while he noted that he had not been moved from the rubble or had any serious injuries to speak of.

"No more than 15 minutes", Angela cheerfully replied, before she pushed three fingers in front of him and continued, "how many fingers do you see?"

"Are you trying to see if I have a concussion? Because if you are, then I can inform you that I see five fingers, but only three stretched ones", Mercury said with a smirk in anticipation of any of the herbalist's mind tricks, before a frown set on his features, "what happened to Barst?"

"Oh that old parsnip", Angela cheerfully said, while waving her hand,"his wards took quite a punch by those three falling buildings, but it took Stronghammer and some more men to finally kill him. It ended with Stronghammer breaking his Eldunarí, which then practically incinerated the good lord. I am however afraid that they have forgotten all about you in the meantime".

"That is the role of bait, I suppose", Mercury said and stood up, before he continued with a questioning glance at the herbalist, "so if everyone has forgotten about me, why did you find and wake me then?"

"You were talking in your sleep, and I did not want to keep hearing that", Angela said, as she made to stand next to Mercury, from where they could oversee most of the Varden either cheering, helping injured people or standing guard.

"What did I say?", Mercury asked the herbalist standing next to him.

"You were just mumbling in some sort of language", Angela quickly said; before she dashed off towards a group of werecats.

_Okay, apparently I now talk in my sleep too_, Mercury mused to himself, as he walked towards a large group of elves, _I might need to address that at some point. Let me see, it will be number...37 on my list of personal improvements, wishes and mental issues/subjects, which I really should deal with at some time_.

As Mercury reached the group of elves surrounding the royal banner, he was stopped by an elf, whose face Mercury had not previously seen among the royal guard, so he assumed that he had just been recruited. Despite being of equal height to Mercury, the elf still clearly looked down upon him, while he said in an arrogant and loathing voice, "did you wish anything, human?"

_Oh you have got to be kidding me! I am way too tired to 'convince' this elf that they really should not just assume that humans are pushovers_, Mercury silently thought to himself, before he in a slightly tired and rather annoyed voice said, "all the knowledge in the world, for this war to just be over, a couple of peaceful decades to sort out any and all of my personal affairs...and how about that since I directly approached the royal banner of the elven queen, then perhaps I would like a chance to speak with her as well".

The elf looked just about ready to kill Mercury, but was stopped by the voice of Islanzadi from behind him, "it is alright Korali. I know this person and would like to speak with him".

Korali grudgingly stepped aside, and as Mercury passed him, he looked him in the eyes and with a shrug said, "sorry about that Korali. I guess Kilgharrah is right after all: I do get slightly grumpy sometimes when I have just awoken", before he greeted Islanzadi and asked, "have you heard anything about how it goes inside?"

"Not well, I am afraid", Islanzadi said with a heavy sigh, "I have just been contacted by my daughter, who has informed me that they only recently made it to the black king's throne room, but they were incapacitated by him the second that they stepped inside. I was just assembling a force of my most powerful elves to go up there and try to help them".

_Incapacitated the second they stepped inside? But that would mean that...oh, Galbatorix you sneaky bastard, you actually found it. I guess this means that the plan will go ahead as planned then_, Mercury mused to himself, before he in a calm voice said, "I would advise against that for several reasons. The primary being that even with the Empire's defeat here, your strike force would still meet heavy resistance on the way to the keep, and that even if you did arrive intact; you would be too late and too exhausted to help. I do however believe that I know of a way where you can help them from here: If you transfer all of your spare energy to my dwarven ring, then I know of a way to easily and fast transport it to them".

"And what would that way be?", Islanzadi said with a little scepticism in her voice.

"Well, it kind of involves having to convince Kilgharrah to fly me across the city, after which I will create a...shortcut...inside the throne room, which I would not have advised anyone to do unless no other options where available", Mercury said in an attempt to convince Islanzadi of his idea, but neglect to share too much about it.

Islanzadi seemed to think about it for a while, before she finally agreed to it, and was subsequently handed the dwarven ring by Mercury, who in the meantime went out to convince Kilgharrah to do him a little favour.

_Hatchling!_, Mercury mentally shouted to get Kilgharrah's attention, as he could not see him anywhere.

The shout was soon answered by the touch of Kilgharrah's mind, it is _good to see that you have finally awoken from your little slumber. Why did you call for me?_

_Seriously, how many knew that I was sleeping there and just decided to let me be_, Mercury grumbled, before he continued in his most convincing voice, _no matter, I need you to take me to the keep immediately. Eragon and his group have encountered unexpected resistance_.

_I am not a horse!_, Kilgharrah said offended.

_I will catch a deer for you once this is over_, Mercury offered, as he knew that Kilgharrah had not denied the request, but merely wanted to get something for his troubles.

_I will at least need three_, Kilgharrah countered.

_Two deer, and not a rabbit more_, Mercury tried to haggle him down.

_Fine, two deer_, Kilgharrah finally agreed, _but you have to season and cook both of them_.

_We are in agreement then_, Mercury said, before he turned around and noticed that Islanzadi stood directly behind him, and looked like she had stood there for a while.

She raised a single eyebrow in question to what had occurred, to which Mercury quickly said, "I have secured the transportation. Have you finished on your end?"

"I have", Islanzadi said, as she held forward Mercury's dwarven ring, which he nimbly took and put on again, after which he turned to mount Kilgharrah, but was stopped by Islanzadi's voice behind him, "Mercury-"

"I know", Mercury interrupted her, before she could say anything more, "I will keep Kilgharrah safe".

"Yes, do that", Islanzadi said with a small nod, before she continued in a slightly hesitant tone, "and if you get the chance to talk to my daughter...inform her that I wish for her to be happy".

"I somehow doubt that I will have the time, but you should tell her yourself, provided that we actually survive this", Mercury said, before he mounted Kilgharrah, who with a blast of air took off from the ground and started to head towards the black keep of Urû'baen.

On the way there, Kilgharrah had to evade several javelins, which he did flawlessly, until he took a single javelin to his left wing, but luckily it did not incapacitate his flying.

_The throne room is there_, Mercury said to the panting Kilgharrah, while sending him directions to the safest route there, _just hover for a moment next to the wall, and I will take it from there_.

Kilgharrah did as he was told without even commenting once, which Mercury knew was because of the strain from the javelin still lodged in his left wing. When Kilgharrah finally reached the wall, Mercury did not dare to waste a single second and immediately jumped off his back and onto the wall, where he only just managed to find something to hold on to.

_What are you doing?_, Kilgharrah warily said.

_I am making my entry, hatchling_, Mercury said, as he began to draw several small pouches from the back of his belt and placed a single one of them in a small corner, _now go back to the elves and get your wing healed_.

_What? I am not leaving you here all alone_, Kilgharrah replied, clearly outraged by the request.

_Do as I say, hatchling! Your wing is straining, you are a sitting duck where you are and you cannot come with me_, Mercury fiercely argued, while he swung himself to another ledge, where he placed another pouch, before he in a softer voice added, _please, just do what I tell you to do this once_.

_Fine, I will do as you say_, Kilgharrah finally complied, before he angled his wings and flew away from the keep wall.

_Best that you do not witness what comes next_, Mercury mused to himself with a small pang of guilt in his heart, before he placed his last pouch and began to slowly climb higher up the wall.

**Eragon POV  
**Eragon, Arya, Elva and Saphira had been suspended in midair by Galbatorix, almost from the moment that they entered the throne room. They had passed all the traps unscathed on the way here, except for the last trap, which had trapped Blödhgarn and his elves. Eragon knew that Arya had contacted her mother for a short moment to inform her of their development, but he had no idea whether the elven queen would use this to have her forces retreat safely from Urû'baen or whether she would try to launch a rescue mission, which would almost certainly end in the same way as their mission had.

Galbatorix had seemed quite agitated when Eragon and his group had entered the throne room, where they had discovered the bodies of two small children next to the throne, but he had since calmed down a bit and had even been slightly happy when he had discovered the Eldunarya hidden in the pocket of space.

Eragon knew that even if Queen Islanzadi had mustered her forces and marched straight to the keep with only a minimum of resistance along the way, then they would not be here for at least an hour, so in all sense he, Arya, Elva and Saphira were facing the black king alone and without much hope of reinforcements.

The black king was standing right in front of Eragon, where he was trying to convince Eragon to simply join him, which Eragon had refused to ever do in the Ancient language, but had had that oath stripped away from him by Galbatorix's use of the Word.

Suddenly a large explosion shook the upper part of the back wall, and covered much of the air around the sight of the explosion in a thick black smoke. Large chunks of debris had begun to fall towards the ground, but that was not the primary target of Eragon's attention, because the primary target of Eragon's attention was four small silver and amethyst coloured spinning objects, which were travelling at a great speed from the centre of the smoke and towards the torso of Galbatorix.

When the objects were only half a metre from Galbatorix, they were immediately stopped by his accursed wards. At the exact moment that they stopped, Eragon recognized the objects as the shurikens used by Mercury, but unlike his usual shurikens, these seemed to have had their usual tips replaced with a small amethyst tip, and sure enough in the next fraction of a second, Eragon recognized the black shape of Mercury falling through the thick smoke.

Galbatorix seemed to have noticed him as well, because the moment he became visible from the smoke was also the moment that Galbatorix shouted, "letta", which effectively froze Mercury a metre and a half above the ground.

Something then happened, which immediately tore Eragon's gaze away from the now trapped Mercury, as the four amethyst tipped shurikens began to vibrate violently with a loud hissing sound coming from either them or the air around them. A sparkling multicoloured burst of energy ran from the tips of the shurikens and through the air surrounding Galbatorix, which seemed to shift extremely fast and extremely violent between all the colours of the rainbow, before it suddenly stopped and 12 orbs of energy appeared in an evenly spaced circle around Galbatorix.

The orbs seemed to simply hover in their position for a moment, before they split into four groups of three orbs, which then flew directly into each of the shurikens, where they glowed extremely bright for a moment, before a small explosion occurred at each of the places, where a shuriken had been suspended.

Galbatorix looked to be stuck somewhere between horrified and excited, which Eragon thought was an odd combination, before the black king burst into laughter, while clapping his hands excitedly. Eragon was dumbfounded by his reaction, and to his left he could see that Arya was as well.

"Congratulations, you actually managed to slice through most of my wards and kill 12 spirits as well", Galbatorix cheerfully said, while he magically moved Mercury over, so that he was suspended right next to him, "I must say that I am quite impressed, but how about we just let you down from there".

Eragon could not believe his own eyes and ears, when Galbatorix with a flick of his wrist let Mercury down right next to him, but what astounded Eragon even more was what Mercury did next, because the moment after Mercury had stabilized himself on the ground, he put his right arm in front of his breast, went down on one knee, bowed his head and said, "I hope my demonstrations have been acceptable, my lord".

"They have indeed, my loyal servant", Galbatorix cheerfully said, before he motioned for Mercury to stand, which he quickly did, "as a matter of fact, I am so impressed by you that I will grant your wish to become the new head of the Black Hand", to which Mercury quickly replied, "you are most graceful, my lord".

What Eragon felt was beyond simple betrayal, it felt much worse than simple betrayal, as Eragon had always thought that although Mercury might have sometimes been completely wrong morally, he had always cared for the sake of the Varden.

"You- you TRAITOR!", Eragon shouted with as much venom as he could possibly mix into his voice, to which Mercury simply blinked in response.

"Now now, where are your manners, boy", Galbatorix said insulted, before he quickly used magic to shush Eragon's very angry and very insulting accusations and threats, "but I suppose it would be good for you to know just when and how your dear friend betrayed you, as you will soon be working together".

"Let me see it was the...", Galbatorix thoughtfully said, while he tapped his chin, before Mercury humbly said, "the first night after I had ensured the escape of these two from the Black Hand castle, my lord".

"Yes, thank you Mercury", Galbatorix said with a small nod at Mercury, before he redirected his attention back to Eragon, "my most senior Black Hand officers had just caught him, while he had been trying to escape, and I quickly took control of one of them. I had originally intended to punish the insolent boy, who had ensured that my price managed to flee, but when I showed him the truth of my power, he quickly tried to squeeze in a deal to allow him to survive and flourish in my Empire. Although I was hesitant at first, he eventually managed to get one of my officers to tell him how to promise to swear loyalty to me when I requested it, and then he told me that he would prove his worth by staying with the Varden and helping them, as one's value is best determined when you are not in the superior position to one's opponent. After due consideration, I accepted his offer, because if he proved useless, then he would just die along with the rest of the Varden, but to my surprise, he actually managed to steal some valuable documents from the castle, which he had been led to. I followed his progress throughout the campaign to Dras-Leona, before I lost touch with him for six months, but when he finally reappeared, I discovered that he had raised a dragon, although a wild one, and from what my officers in the city tells me, he has been quite proficient in warfare as well, however", Galbatorix then turned to Mercury, "did you really have to kill Murtagh and Thorn as well?"

_What? He killed them as well, but why?_, Eragon frantically thought to himself, while he simultaneously felt sad for the death of his half-brother and his dragon, who had never asked nor wanted to be part of Galbatorix's machine.

Mercury calmly looked at Galbatorix, before he replied in a slightly submissive but still a cold and emotionless voice, "I was not told that they were not to be killed, and I thought that a dead dragon rider would look well on my resume, but since Thorn is now gone, I suggest that we keep the wild dragon, Kilgharrah, as it would greatly boost the gene pool if we have more males than just Shruikan to mate with Saphira, and I believe that I know the wild dragon well enough to either manipulate him to see things our way or eventually find his true name, and then have you translate it to the Ancient language, my lord".

Galbatorix chuckled for a moment, while he said, "this is why I believe you would be perfect as my new head of the Black Hand. Your complete disregard for other people and creatures' lives, unless they somehow benefit your own gain, but what do you think our dear guests thinks of this?", and as he said the last bit, Galbatorix removed the spells, which had been silencing Eragon.

"You traitorous backstabbing bastardly-", Eragon managed to angrily spit out, before he was silenced again by Galbatorix.

"Now now, that was rather rude, Eragon. How about we hear if our elf has any objections", Galbatorix calmly and clearly deeply amused said.

_Eragon, do not continue to insult him_, Saphira's soothing voice said, which only managed to calm Eragon down a little.

_But he wants to use you as a simple breeding tool! He has betrayed everyone!_, Eragon countered.

_We know, but he has yet to actually swear the oaths of fealty to the king, and if we could somehow convince him to switch sides, he might know of a way out of this_, Arya and Saphira's voices said in unison, _and what would you say from your earlier experiences with him is the most governing factor in how Mercury runs his life?_

_Treachery, lies, deceit-_, Eragon started, but was cut short by Arya's voice, _no, he always listens to his mind's logic, twisted and flawed as it may be. If we are to convince him, then we must drop all attempts to persuade him by any emotional arguments and only use cold and rational arguments_.

"Mercury, why do you fight for Galbatorix?", Arya asked in a calm voice.

"It is quite simple actually", Mercury said in a slightly enthusiastic voice, "you were never going to win against him, and if he wins this war, then all the nations would be united under one banner, which would mean the end of the need for war in Alagaësia. All in all, less people would die if Galbatorix stayed in power, as no one would have the strength to rebel against him".

"But how about the knowledge of your world? You said that it would devastate Alagaësia if it was revealed, and do you really trust Galbatorix to not use this to his advantage?", Eragon countered.

"Oh, we already discussed that", Mercury nonchalantly said, before he looked towards Galbatorix, who gave a nod of confirmation, before he continued, "Galbatorix agrees with me, that Alagaësia is not ready for this sort of change, and as it would cause more problems for my lord than it would solve, I know that he would never want to use it".

"Enough of this chatter", Galbatorix cut in, "Mercury, there is still the matter of your oaths of fealty to consider".

"Yes, you are right my lord", Mercury said and bowed his head to Galbatorix, "but since I do not know the words in the Ancient language, perhaps you could tell me the sentences, so that I might repeat them".

_Wait, is he trying to get Galbatorix to swear fealty to him?_, Eragon hopefully mentally asked Arya, Saphira and the hidden Eldunarya.

_If he is, then he might not have turned completely_, Saphira said, _now let us watch what unfolds_.

As Eragon returned his attention to Galbatorix, he noticed that Galbatorix looked like he was just about to say the oaths, but then he seemed to change his mind, as he in the common tongue said, "did you just try to gain power over ME!"

Eragon half expected Mercury to be quaking in fear, but to Eragon's admiration he merely shrugged and calmly said, "I saw an opportunity and chose to take it, although I never actually expected you to fall for it".

Upon hearing his reply, Galbatorix burst into laughter, which only resided in time for him to say, "that is exactly what I want in the new leader of the Black Hand: a man completely devoid of petty compassion, and who is ambitious enough to grab a chance for power even if it seems extremely unlikely", before his tone changed to a deadly serious one, "but do not EVER try to do something like that to me again".

"As you wish, my lord", Mercury humbly said, before he was instructed by Galbatorix in how to pronounce each word in the Ancient language and in what order to say the words.

Eragon could only watch in horror, as Mercury got down on one knee and in a loud and clear voice said, "**I, Mercury Iridium, do hereby swear to protect and obey my lord Galbatorix. I will not let harm befall him either from actions or inaction. I swear to obey his every wish and every command**".

"Good, now rise my newest servant", Galbatorix cheerfully said, which Mercury swiftly did, before Galbatorix waved his right hand, which brought forth one of Eragon's elven guards, which Eragon remembered had been the one who had guarded Mercury's tent after he had been unburied in Dras-Leona, "now, how about we show your loyalty to our guests by having you kill this elf?"

Mercury, who stood on Galbatorix's right side, coldly eyed the elf, before he spoke in an equally cold and emotionless voice, "why have me kill this elf? I hardly even know her, much less care for her wellbeing. Would it not be better for me to simply kill the elven ambassador Arya...or perhaps Eragon himself?"

"No, I want Eragon alive", Galbatorix said, while slightly shaking his head.

"Maim him a bit then?", Mercury asked with a slightly hopeful tone in his voice.

Galbatorix seemed to consider his offer for a moment, before he chuckling said, "alright, I will allow you this, but do not try in any way to inflict a mortal wound on him", before he in an offhand comment said, "after that, I want you to summon this wild dragon, so that we might start the breeding. I only plan on using him for a few batches of eggs, before he is to disgorge his Eldunarí and be put down".

Eragon thought he could see Mercury's right hand's index and thumb twitch just a little at the comment, before he heard Mercury say in his usual cold but now also questioning voice, "but my lord, was it not better to use him as a terror in the skies, like you planned for the riders, rather than simply have him be put down for his hearts of hearts?"

"No, wild dragons are too difficult to control and could much more easily change their true name. I need bonded dragons", Galbatorix said in a voice, which resembled a teacher tutoring his student.

"I am of course under your command and your wisdom, my lord. Now let me just see about maiming our guest a little", Mercury said in his now usual cold and careless voice, before he fiddled with the button on his right bracer, threw down his hand, which made the plain steel blade spring forth, before he casually walked towards Eragon, who could only watch as Mercury approached with a deadly glint in his eyes.

To Eragon, the world seemed to slow down, as Mercury slowly sank his blade into the left muscle group near Eragon's stomach. The blade felt so very cold inside of Eragon, but it felt slightly odd as well, like a bulb had formed near the root of the blade, which seemed to roll around separately from the blade.

At the same time as Eragon felt the cold blade in his body, he also felt Mercury's breath near his left ear. Mercury's breath seemed a tiny bit rasped, before Eragon heard his deadly quiet voice whisper, "tell Umaroth that I am sorry that I broke our agreement, but I could not make the final sacrifice", before he withdrew his blade, backed away slightly and then went to stand on the still laughing Galbatorix's right side again, while Eragon's blood was still colouring the still extended steel blade.

Eragon was deeply confused by Mercury's words, and from the recesses of his mind, he knew that Umaroth was as well, but that confusion only grew as he still felt a small cold bulb in his wound. Eragon quickly ignored the concerned inquires from Arya and Saphira, and instead began to probe the wound with his mind.

What he found was thirteen small shining lights, which although small in size, still shined as bright as the sun. Eragon realized with a jolt that the source of this light emanated from the thirteen small jewels in Mercury's dwarven ring.

From his mind, he could feel the confusion of the rest of his party, but when his eyes caught Mercury's, Mercury merely blinked with his right eye from his position at Galbatorix's right side, while his right blade still dripped with Eragon's blood.

What happened next was something, which Eragon had thought to be impossible, because of Mercury's oaths. Immediately after blinking at Eragon, Mercury dropped down to a crouching position with his right leg, while the left kicked Galbatorix off his feet, and made him tumble down on his back with a look of pure shock to replace his previous laughter.

The complete surprise made Galbatorix lose his concentration, which in turn lifted his enchantments on Eragon and the rest of his group, and while he steadied himself on the ground, Eragon saw from the corners of his eyes that Mercury had jumped onto Galbatorix, while simultaneously snarling a deep and vicious snarl, and was currently trying to impale Galbatorix's head with the very same blade, which was still coated in Eragon's blood.

The blade however stopped about 20 centimetres from Galbatorix's head, and in the next moment the giant black tail of Shruikan swung around and hit Mercury directly in his left side. The impact clearly made several cracking noises, before it sent Mercury flying through the very hole, which he had previously used to enter the throne room.

"Get him!", Eragon cried, before the Eldunarya and himself launched a mental attack on Galbatorix and his Eldunarya, while Saphira and Arya attacked the giant behemoth of Shruikan, which would ultimately end the reign of the dark king and his black dragon.

**Mercury POV**  
Mercury was flying through the air, propelled by the strength of Shruikan's tail, but without any energy to even remotely steer or stop him, as his upwards flying turned into a direct plummeting towards the merciless ground.

From his entire torso, he could feel excruciating pain, and it was only the tiniest bit of consciousness, which still kept him awake. In the depths of his mind, he realized that there would be no way out of this alive, which was the very first time in his entire life that he had ever fully believed that he was going to die, as he had always had some sort of card to play in every single one of his previous life threatening situations, but in this one he had played them all.

Angela's voice ran unbidden through his head as the realization struck him, _the life star with the crow on top means that in the not so distant future, your life-force will cease to exist_, and instantly he knew that he was right in his assumption that he was going to die.

_I guess I never really had a chance to fully implement my plan_, Mercury faintly thought to himself with a bit of amusement running through him, before he continued in a sadder voice, _and now I am going to die without making sure that my hatchling is safe_.

_Sorry...hatchling_, Mercury managed to mentally blurt out through the city, before everything went black, as he hit the hard surface of the rock cliff.

* * *

As I previously said: I often kill my main characters.

Btw, Galbatorix dies pretty much the same way as in the books, as I had Mercury remove most of Galbatorix's wards instead of Murtagh.


	28. At the journey's end

Why does everyone think that the story ended in the last chapter? I am pretty sure that I said that it would be 31 chapters long, and besides, who would end a story without some sort of aftermath/epilogue chapters?

But here you have a unique view into Mercury's mind, as I believe that a lot would probably need to be explained. Enjoy.

* * *

**At the journey's end**

**Mercury POV  
**Mercury was floating aimlessly around in the strangest of places, but for how long he had done so, he knew not, because days seemed the same as seconds in this place. Floated around might have been too simple a term, but it was the best Mercury could come up with, as he had no body of any kind in here, and yet the entire place felt like it was part of him. He viewed everything from almost every angle possible at once, which would have normally been a quite confusing and terrifying experience, but right now it seemed almost natural.

Mercury felt complete serenity in this place, where no distractions such as smell, taste or anything else existed. Nothing could worry him here, and every single one of his previous worries seemed like nothing more than dust in the air; blowing away as soon as they were noticed. All in all, it was far more peaceful than anything Mercury could ever remember experiencing.

The place did not seem all that vast, but at the same time, Mercury had not found any borders or limits to the place. Direction was an impossible concept in a place like this, as he was everywhere and nowhere at once, combined with the fact that everything seemed exactly the same. The place was filled with a strange floating multicoloured substance of sorts, which to Mercury seemed to resemble plasma, and it was in and from this substance that Mercury experienced everything, like the substance was a part of him, but not the entirety of him.

Mercury had originally thought that the colours of the substance were merely random, but at some point, he had been able to distinguish a picture in the colours of a tiny part of the substance, before it faded away or changed into something, which he did not know what was. After this realization, Mercury had more often spotted images, and even sometimes feelings like smells, touches, sounds or any of his other senses, although he failed to understand how, as he did not have any of those anymore.

He had immediately recognized some of the sensations from the substance, while he could only faintly recognize others, but they all somehow seemed familiar to him.

Mercury had no idea of how he had ended up in this place or where this place even existed. He knew that he had died, of that there could be no question, because if his impact on the rock cliff had not killed him when it had, then the damage from Shruikan's tale would have a few seconds later.

_Is this death?_, Mercury mused to himself, but although the fact that he had no mouth, the sentence reverberated everywhere in the place, like he had spoken it out loud, _no, death is supposed to simply be the stop of one's existence, where every thought and every memory is wiped away from the now dead individual_.

_But by this definition, I am not dead, and yet I clearly remember dying. How can this be?_, Mercury mused to himself, as his previous serenity was wiped completely away by his natural inquisitiveness and his determination to solve this puzzle, even if it was the last thing he would ever do.

_Everything has a solution, so like a regular jigsaw, I just have to lay down my known pieces and then start building around them_, Mercury thought to himself in an effort to try and look at this in as logical a way as one could possibly do in a situation such as this, _I know that I died, and_ _I know that I have no body in here, so my mind must either have been ripped from my body and placed in here, like an Eldunarí, or my mind has found some other realm to exist in, although I do not understand how, as my mind is supposed to be connected to my body. I know that this place is either infinite or is of such a construct that it has no ends and merely converges in on itself at every point. I furthermore know that the substance in here is a sort of collection of images and other senses, which somehow seem familiar to me_.

Mercury thought about his possibilities for a little while, or quite a long while, as he did not have any sense of time in here, before he started to get an idea to build around one of the puzzle ends, _perhaps the reason for the substance's familiarity to me is that the substance is actually all of my collected experiences. It would solve the issue of why I seem to at some degree recognize all of the sensations, combined with the fact that I also seem to exist everywhere in this substance, which leads me to conclude that this substance is me...or at least my entire collected existence_.

_Perhaps I can combine this new knowledge with the fact that no other sentient beings seems to be here, which would mean that this is my private plane of existence_, Mercury euphorically thought to himself, _but it would seem almost impossible if each and every being in each and every universe was somehow given their own private plane of existence to exist eternally in after death, so that might mean that this is only a temporary sanctuary_.

Mercury mulled over a thousand and one different possibilities, which all seemed to be equally farfetched, before he remembered a small detail from his biology class: clinical death is the failure of one's heart and lungs to provide blood circulation and oxygen to the cells, whereas brain death does not usually occur before some time after.

_Hmm, I know that I died a clinical death_, Mercury mused to himself, _but perhaps my brain has yet to die, which would mean that all of this is still in my head. It would certainly fit with some of the 'life passing by' tales, as I keep experiencing small sections and portions of my life_.

_Wait, if this is just an apparition of my own mind, then..._, Mercury suddenly excitedly thought to himself, as an idea sprang fourth in his head.

Mercury had originally not been particularly bothered by the complete disorder in this world, as the evenly distributed disorder had made everything seem like it was in their place, but after he realized that the substance was actually fragments of his own memories and experiences, which he was now slowly experiencing, he had had a slight but growing annoyance with the complete disorder.

A thought from one memory would mingle with the image of another and/or the sound of a third at once, which was a quite confusing experience to Mercury's mind, as it preferred a great deal of order to it, but it was a confusion, which Mercury now intended to change, because if this was to be his last moments of sentient thought, then he wanted to at least experience his life with some sort of coherence.

Slowly but certainly, the substance, which had previously filled the place like an all encompassing fog, began to condense into more structured and firmer materials. Numerous aisles began to appear, with the substance between them condensing into a floor of sorts. As the aisles formed, books began to form from them, and when all was done, a massive library filled with every part of Mercury's life in numerous aisles, which all had different parts and sections, which to some might have been considered disorderedly, as they were not chronologically lined, but rather after the system in which Mercury himself used to keep track of everything in his mind.

It took very little effort on Mercury's part to form and maintain all of this, but Mercury was not finished yet, as he still saw everything from inside all of the substance. With quite a lot more willpower and effort, he managed to extract his entire understanding of the senses of sight, touch, hearing, smelling and taste from all of the substance, and form them into an avatar of himself, except that this avatar was dressed not in any clothes that he had ever worn, but rather in robes, which were befitted to an elder of great knowledge and wisdom...or at least how Mercury imagined that one such would look like in fairytales.

Mercury beheld his new avatar for a moment. He still saw everything from every possible angle from his new avatar, but it was a clear improvement from before. _It will do_, Mercury thought to himself, as he finished his examination of his new avatar.

Examination done, Mercury's avatar gently strolled towards the maze of aisles, where he instinctively knew what way to take; he had after all created it all. He passed several aisles, which all had different labels on the end, so that one would know what the aisle contained; not that it mattered to Mercury, as he knew the exact place of everything, but he had thought that it fitted very well with his imagined library.

Finally he came to an aisle labelled: Alagaësia, which he then strode down at, until he found the shelf labelled: Alagaësia contingency plan. Mercury pried a book loose from the shelf, which he then opened, but instead of it simply being a book full of letters, it contained every thought, sound, smell, touch, image and taste from that particular set of memories, which was then absorbed by the avatar, which Mercury controlled.

After viewing his entire plan like an outside observer would have, Mercury found a few minor and some major errors in it. His biggest error in his plan had been to be too sure of himself and his ability to not only keep alive, but also fool Galbatorix for the three decades, which he had estimated that the plan would take to be completed.

_Why did I not just train a successor?_, Mercury thought to himself, but it was a question, which he already knew the answer to. Mercury had never been a particularly trusting person, but his entire plan revolved around the knowledge from his own world, which would have not only been catastrophic for Alagaësia to encounter at this point in development, but would have been close to impossible to teach to another in such a short time span, as Mercury had had.

Now that he thought of it, another problem raised itself to Mercury's awareness. Mercury had completed the plan's initial stages when he had secured the position as the new head of the Black Hand, which he would need to move around Alagaësia and make requests and orders, which no one would dare to refuse or talk about to others. He had finally found a way to circumvent Galbatorix's oaths, which had taken quite a few months of twisting and turning every meaning and word to its limits, so that he would be able to deny Galbatorix when needed and kill him when Mercury was ready to do so.

Mercury had reasoned that since the oath to not let any harm befall to Galbatorix whether through action or inaction also meant psychological harm, which he theorized that Galbatorix suffered from to a great extent, which he would then need to eradicate due to his oath, which in Mercury's mind meant that he would perform less harm on Galbatorix by killing him than by letting him live. This had been augmented by Mercury's belief that Galbatorix had a death wish, as he had openly challenged the riders of old with only a handful of servants to aid him, and thereafter declared war on most of Alagaësia, and in Mercury's mind, a death wish was just an unspoken command, which he had been most willing to oblige.

Mercury's plan for killing Galbatorix had involved having to serve him faithfully for at least a decade to elude suspicion, before his research could be initiated. He had estimated that the research would take perhaps another decade to complete, and that it of course would have to remain a complete secret through all of those years.

The research would have been on how to properly create a nuclear bomb, which Mercury knew how worked in theory and had a few simple designs from the Little Boy and Fat Man bombs, but he did not know exactly how to build it, so he needed to perform tests and a lot of calculations on that.

After he had finished his research, he would begin to secretly gather enough materials, which was the problem that had aroused itself in Mercury's mind, as he did not even know whether Alagaësia had the required Uranium and/or Plutonium in its underground.

Mercury had not deemed it likely that he would find a way around Galbatorix's wards, so he had planned to simply overpower them with brute force. Several nuclear bombs would be distributed throughout Urû'baen, with the main part being near and in the keep. Mercury would rig them, so that the first would detonate the next and so on, but he had always planned on manually detonating the first, as he was pretty sure that he could not get a proper detonation system to work without magic.

The entire city of Urû'baen would have no doubt been completely obliterated from the explosions, and the nuclear fallout would have decimated much of the surrounding landscape, but Mercury had planned on timing his detonation, so that the wind would be blowing towards the unsettled Hadarac desert at the time, and that Eragon and most of the new dragon riders to come would be out of the city, so that they could rebuild the world after he had destroyed it.

Mercury had no doubt that for countless of generations to come, he would be seen as a mass murderer, who not only betrayed the Varden, but also committed the biggest genocide in recorded history, but he did not care, as he knew that he would be dead at the time and that they would finally be free from Galbatorix's rule, whereas if he had not committed the atrocity, then they would forever be slaves to him.

_Oh well, there is nothing I can do about it now_, Mercury thought to himself with the mental equivalent of a sigh, before he placed the book back onto the shelf and began to walk further into the maze of aisles. He only stopped once in a while to look at books, which held particular importance to him, but bypassed the mostly empty shelf labelled: Friends.

As he walked past one of the aisles furthest away from his starting point, he noticed how the aisles were slowly but surely losing their colour and glow, which left only dark structures behind. The process seemed to spread to the nearby aisles at a steady pace, which would no doubt encompass the entire library at some point.

_It must be my brain dying_, Mercury reasoned to himself, while he walked away from the decay at a brisk pace, _at least this solves the issue of whether I would know when the time to truly perish would come_.

Before long, Mercury deemed that he was far enough away from the decay to resume his leisurely walk, when he noted that he had arrived at an aisle-area, which was surrounded by transparent walls. The only access inside was a door, which had a key card scanner next to it, and a sign above it, which read: Restricted.

Mercury did not have to look at the labels on the aisles to know what dwelled in here, because he had personally locked it all away, although he had not anticipated that it would be quite so literal. In there was not what he did not wish for anyone else to know, but rather what he did not wish for himself to remember.

From a pocket in his robes, he drew a small key card, which he knew could open the door, but still he hesitated, despite the fact that he would never again be able to look upon them. Finally after much hesitation, he threw the key card towards the area, where he knew the decay was spreading, and began to walk away. He would not, could not, face those memories again. He did not wish to experience his first memory from childhood again, where he had as a mere 3-year old witnessed his parents' suicide by order of a cult leader, which they had been a part of.

The only reason that Mercury had survived that had been that the police had stormed the building and just managed to shoot the person, who was about to make him drink the poison, right before Mercury's very eyes. After that he had been placed in an orphanage, where he had remained until he was allowed to move out at age 16.

Mercury had no wish to remember how he had been given the unusual name of Mercury, as none but his parents and the now dead cult members had known his true first name. He did not want to experience how he at age 8, finally had gathered up the courage to ask the head mistress of the orphanage, which had been drunk at that particular moment, which also was a major part in why Mercury had chosen this very moment to ask. She had in her drunken state told him of how they had had no idea of what he had been called, despite his parents' last name, but that they had just named him with the label, which had been stuck to his back when he had arrived. The label had been from one of the poison bottles, which Mercury had realized meant that his parents and their fellow cult members had killed themselves with the very thing, which Mercury had been named after.

A cruel joke by the staff at the orphanage, but one that would later come to benefit Mercury, as he had recorded the entire conversation. Mercury had confronted the head mistress with the recording a few days later, which had ended up in him being able to blackmail her or else she might not only lose her job, but perhaps get sued.

He had kept his demands to her at a relatively unimportant level, where he only demanded a few more liberties and for her to overlook some of his activities. With those liberties, he had been able to make a few intimidating threats to some of the older children at the orphanage, which had convinced them to not only leave him alone, but make sure that he was not picked at in school ever again.

The very first thing, which Mercury had done, when he had turned 18, was not to throw a birthday party, but rather to go down to the local government office and fill out a reform to change his last name. from what his parents' had been, to Iridium, which he had chosen because he thought it fitting to have both a first and a last name, which originated from the periodic table, which he had taken a liking to and had even begun to study towards becoming an engineer in chemistry.

Although his blackmailing, intimidation of the other children and the changing of his last name might have been considered something to be ashamed of, Mercury had not locked it away in his mind, like he had done with some of his other memories, but had merely filed them under various labels, just like most of his other memories.

While he had been walking, the decay had spread around him and encircled him. All the remaining aisles where either completely blacked out or in the process of being. Mercury slowly felt the decay spreading to his own avatar, which slowly started to erase his notion of smell. He looked upon his hand, and noticed how the fingers were beginning to darken in colour.

Faintly he thought that he had heard someone or something call his name and perhaps said something more, but he could not identify what had been said, if it was anything other than a hallucination, as he lost his understanding of hearing the moment after.

_All my previous actions have led up to this final moment. This is my just punishment for the crimes, which I have committed and had planned to commit_, Mercury mused to himself, as the avatar darkened until only the head remained lightly lit, _I only wish that my dear hatchling will not be bound by his true name and stripped of his freedom, but rather that he finds the happiness in life, which I could never have_.

Right before he finally lost his last notion of sight, he thought he saw a sea of silver-coloured light sweep through his mind, which enveloped and completely hid or destroyed, Mercury did not know which, all of his library of memory. And so combined with a small silent chuckle, his last thoughts, before his last light went out, were, _here comes the light to sweep me away. If I was not about to die, I might have considered writing a thesis on my experiences in here, as it certainly would have been fascinating to read about what truly happens when one dies, instead of the mere guessing and religious babble_.

* * *

First of all, how did you like my idea of giving Mercury this last chance to view his life again, and second of all, if anyone remembers Angela's prophecy to Mercury, she said that he would need to confront his past to move towards the future, which he has certainly not done so far, as he simply avoided the parts, which he did not like and kept to the parts, which he had already accepted.

Another thing that I feel like I want to point out: Mercury knows what good and evil are supposed to be from a society's perspective, which is why he says that this is his just punishment, but he is capable to turn off his empathy towards others at will, so he is quite capable of performing incredible evil acts, despite knowing that they are so. In layman terms such a person is called a temporary sociopath, as he does not have his empathy turned off at all times, but merely when the situation demands it.

Oh, and does it not make you reconsider Mercury's talk with Eragon about cults, from when they were in the tunnels of Dras-Leona, when you learn that Mercury's parents committed suicide because their cult leader told them to?


	29. A better tomorrow?

Wow, I must admit that I expected people to not believe that he was truly dead and make up excuses as to how he could still be alive or reborn, but apparently I was wrong in that assumption. Too bad really, I would have found it quite amusing to have to resort to writing replies that would heavily indicate that he was dead, without me ever directly lying about it.

Oh, and now this: One of my friends, which I have been discussing this story and the following with, has told me that he was not sure whether I was cruel or generous to Mercury for letting him live, and I believe that he might have a point, but I am not done with Mercury yet.

* * *

**A better tomorrow?**

**Mercury POV  
**A gasp, quickly followed by a deep breath, escaped Mercury's mouth. His entire body ached, itched and tickled at the same time. He could see a myriad of colours, smell a million different fragrances, taste everything he had ever eaten, and he heard a thousand different sounds all at once. His eyes felt like hot white iron had been sunk into them, while they at the same time also felt like he had put them into ice, but he could not open them, they did not obey him for some reason. The same accounted for the rest of his body, but Mercury only had a faction of a second to register all of this, before he was swept away into unconsciousness.

When Mercury next came to awareness, he was still half-asleep. His senses had stopped playing tricks on him, so he was able to recognize the soft bed and pillow with the warm blanket, which he was currently lying in. He thought he could hear the chirping of birds and feel a gentle breeze caress his body.

_Mmm, soft bed. Don't want to get up_, Mercury's drowsy mind thought to itself, before full awareness kicked in, _I am alive?_

He instantly fully awoke and took the deepest breath he had ever taken, and then another and another, like his life depended on his ability to draw in as much air as possible. His eyes flashed completely open, but were just as quickly closed again, because they had not adjusted themselves to the light yet.

His back was arched, and he almost instantaneously tried to sit up, but was pushed down by a gentle yet firm hand. "Breathe slowly", a voice spoke, but Mercury was unable to identify anything in the voice besides the words.

Mercury slowly did as he was told, while his eyes kept flashing open and then close just as suddenly from the immense amount of light, which he saw through them. A gasp could be heard from the unknown figure as he did so, but Mercury knew not the reason behind this.

After a while, his eyes finally adjusted somewhat to the light, so that he could now see who was holding him down. It had been Arya, who had held him down and told him to breathe slowly, but why she was even here, Mercury could not understand, as he had clearly betrayed them all.

She held a completely emotionless mask on her face, but her eyes betrayed that something had greatly shocked her. _Probably that I am alive_, Mercury reasoned to himself, before he asked in a cracked voice, "Kilgharrah?"

"Safe", she murmured, before forcing a cup of water to his lips, which he only reluctantly drank from.

"And Galbatorix?", Mercury asked in a slightly stronger voice.

"Dead", she simply spoke, before she retreated back out of his vision, "Eragon is to arrive soon. You may talk later then".

Mercury thought about a lot of questions, the primary being why he was still alive, but he held his tongue and instead opted to study the room, which he had been lain in. It was a fairly large room with a window, which had a view to a beautiful garden. Bookshelves lined some of the walls, and a fireplace could be seen at the far end. Arya sat in a chair next to the door, which was at the opposite side of the room as the bed. She seemed to be studying him with an intensity, which unnerved Mercury greatly.

Strangely enough, all of the colours in the room seemed to be deeper and more nuanced than Mercury had expected, and even the shadows seemed to be more lit, like a person had lighted them with a flashlight, but had avoided to let the light hit the surrounding areas, which were being lit by the sun's rays.

Mercury could see the wood in the shadows so clearly that even though they were at the opposite end of the room, he could still distinguish each of the grains in the wood.

This discovery astounded Mercury, as he was fairly sure that either his eyesight had changed or someone had taken the time and money to draw up each and every line in the house, make all the shadowed areas appear lighter and colour everything in vibrant colours.

He tried rubbing his eyes, but when he opened them again, everything still looked the same. _What has happened?_, Mercury managed to ask himself mentally, before the door went open and Eragon walked in. He looked to be torn somewhere between annoyance and curiosity, but when he laid his eyes on Mercury, he gasped in shock, before he quickly hid his reaction again.

"Could someone tell me why I am still alive?", Mercury nervously asked the two.

"We can talk about that after we have finished questioning you", Eragon said in a cold voice, "we have not told anyone about what really happened in the throne room yet, because we wanted you to get a chance to explain yourself, before we passed judgement on you".

"We?", Mercury said in a doubtful voice.

"The Eldunarya convinced me to not just throw you in prison, before you had explained what happened and why you were able to wipe the memory of their conversation with you", Eragon continued in a slightly irritated voice, before almost shouting, "why did you do it? Why did you betray us, the Varden and all of Alagaësia?"

Mercury gave a tired sigh, as his viewing of his plan in his mind was still fresh, before he said in a slow and careful voice, "I did it for tomorrow's sake".

"Whose tomorrow?", Arya said in an emotionless voice.

"The dragon riders', the elves', the humans', the dwarves', the urgalgras'...and Kilgharrah's", Mercury calmly but hesitantly spoke, while he only added the last part as a small whisper, but he was sure that they heard it.

"By betraying them all to Galbatorix?", Eragon asked confused.

"Yes", Mercury said with a small sigh, while he averted his gaze away from them.

"Why?", Eragon continued.

"I felt his power firsthand at Belatona, and I realized that you would never be able to beat him", Mercury said detached, "I knew that I would be able to kill him eventually, but I needed resources, unrestricted access to Urû'baen along with the rest of Alagaësia, and more time, decades to be exact. Once Galbatorix had been removed from power, you and all the dragon riders to come would have been released from your oaths, and would be free and able to rebuild Alagaësia".

"What exactly did you plan to do, and how did you avoid your oaths to Galbatorix?", Eragon asked with a little bit of fear seeping into his voice.

Mercury released a small nervous chuckle, as he said, "I think it is best for your own peace of mind that you do not know of what I planned, but before you say anything, know that I had the Eldunarya's approval to go ahead if I deemed that your attempt had failed, even though they cannot remember now". "**I swear**", Mercury finished in the ancient language to underline his statement, but he was unsure of whether he was grammatically correct, as he only had the few words, which Galbatorix taught him, to rely on.

"How can we trust your promise, even when it is in the Ancient language, when you broke much more detailed oaths mere minutes after you had given them", Arya said, clearly not trusting Mercury's words, even when they were in the Ancient language.

Mercury took a deep breath, before he said in a calm voice, "I had months to figure out how to circumvent those oaths, but since I never expected this to happen, I have not had it this time. Besides, if you need proof of the Eldunarya's approval, then all the proof you need is the fact that their memory of our conversation was erased. Do you really think that I could overpower them and erase their memory without their consent?"

_He speaks the truth_, Umaroth said to everyone present, _to think that any one person could overpower all of us would be folly_.

"I see", Eragon thoughtfully spoke, "wait, you said that you intended for us to rebuild Alagaësia, what would you have done in the meantime?"

"Been dead", Mercury said in a nonchalant way and shrugged, "and everyone in Alagaësia would have cheered at the fact that I had died".

"Why? If you killed Galbatorix, then people would have cheered you as a saviour", Eragon said confused.

"No, trust me they would not", Mercury said with a small chuckle, before continuing in a serious voice, "now that I have answered your questions, can I please get an answer to why I am still alive, as I clearly and quite profoundly remember dying?"

"You have Kilgharrah to thank for that", Arya said, "my mother told me that when he heard your mental cry, he rushed straight to the rock cliff, despite several warnings from the elves, and brought your body back to them and practically ordered them to heal you", at this she halted, before Eragon took over.

"Your body was far too damaged to even attempt to repair it, besides the fact that you did not breathe", Eragon said slowly, "Kilgharrah was not entirely happy about that answer, in fact I believe a few of the elves still does not dare to venture near him".

"What happened?", Mercury said with an undertone of irritation and warning present in his voice, as he was quite tired of them dancing around the answer.

"You need to understand that dragon magic is unpredictable and outside the dragon's control", Arya softly said, while she averted her gaze from his face, "Kilgharrah could not have known what would happen when he healed your body of its injuries and gave it life again".

Mercury instinctively reached for his face with his right hand and felt around it, but he could not feel any deformities or anything that should not have been there. His skin still felt the same, his ears still had their shape, his hair seemed the same, although a with a bit more colour than it used to, and his eyes still held their normal shape.

Arya stopped him by grabbing his hand, and with her other hand, she handed him a mirror, which he took in both hands and looked at. In it he could see his face staring back at him, his skin tone seemed the same, as did his hair, but he let out a gasp when he reached his eyes.

They still had their outer shape, but that was about the only thing, which had remained the same. His irises had changed their colour from their usual grey to shiny silver, and his pupils had changed into thin cat-like pupils.

_No, not cat eyes, dragon eyes_, Mercury realized with a jolt, while he gently poked his left eye to ensure that they were real. When he retracted his hand, the pupil had dilated into a rounder shape due to the lack of light his hand had caused, although it still had a pretty oval shape to it.

"Some of the wiser elves might be able to bring your eyes back to their original-", Arya started to say, but was cut short by Mercury, "no. No do not try; I think I would rather keep them as they are. They were a gift from Kilgharrah".

_Hmm, silver dragon eyes_, Mercury mused to himself, _I wonder if they are connected to that silver-wave that I saw sweeping over my dying mind_, and then realization hit him, _no, not sweep over, but envelope, renew and overwrite. So this is how Angela's prophecy came true; not by the death of me, but by having Kilgharrah override my dying life-force. Now I guess that my eyes truly are the gateway to my soul_, Mercury silently chuckled a bit at the last part.

"Where is Kilgharrah?", Mercury softly asked the two.

"I had Saphira take him out hunting, while we questioned you", Eragon answered.

"Understandable", Mercury simply said, before a small smile graced his lips, "have any of you seem my weapons and armour, as I believe I have a debt to fulfil?"

Arya cleared her throat for a moment, before she said, "your sword, as you know, was broken by Lord Barst, and most of your shurikens have vanished without a trace, most likely taken as trophies. Your armour...well, it was quite a steep fall, and when you hit the rock cliff, most of your armour was torn to shreds, but your body continued to slide down the edge and would have fallen off and landed somewhere in Urû'baen, if your cloak had not caught on to a rock, which left your body hanging down from the cliff, but it tore a great hole into your cloak as well".

Mercury released an irritated sigh, while he ran his hand down his face, before he said, "so, my armour is torn to shreds, my sword lies in pieces somewhere and my shurikens have been stolen as trophies...does anyone have a crossbow that I can burrow for a moment?"

"What?", Eragon exclaimed confused, "what do you need a crossbow for, and why are you not more upset about losing all of your equipment?"

"To answer your questions", Mercury said with a small smile, "I need the crossbow, because I am not very proficient with a bow, and because I promised Kilgharrah two freshly caught and well seasoned deer as payment for flying me to the keep, and as for my equipment", Mercury then replaced his small smile with a look of non-caring, and said with a shrug, "well, I always just considered them expendable, tools to be used and replaced if necessary".

"Oh", Arya said with look like she had something that she wished to share.

"Yes?", Mercury said with a raised eyebrow.

"My mother, the queen, wished to show her gratitude to you for saving her life and helping to defeat Lord Barst, so she has had her most senior elves try to repair your sword and armour", Arya slightly hesitantly said.

"And how did it go?", Mercury asked with a suspicion that it had not went completely as planned.

"Your sword was easy enough for Rhunön to fix, as it was only of dwarven make and the enchantments were easy enough to remake, as was the materials used for your armour, but...", Arya said and paused.

"But my enchantments on the armour were not so", Mercury finished with a slight sigh and a small smile, before he continued in a slightly amused voice, "I figured that that might be the problem, when you hesitated".

"Some have been easy enough to replace, but others", Arya said with a slight awe in her voice, "others they could not find any words that would even remotely fit what they did".

"Understandable, as I did not know of the Ancient language's importance to magic at the time, and simply formed the enchantments as I intended them to work in my head", Mercury simply said, "I will redo them once your mother has finished with them", before a thought struck him, "wait, how long was I out?"

"Three days", Eragon said, "despite not having a single scratch on you after Kilgharrah had finished, you still would not wake"

"I see, probably because my body needed to reboot and readjust to the new life-force", Mercury thoughtfully said, before adding, "what has happened in the meantime?"

"Reboot? New life-force", Eragon said, but was waved off by Mercury, who simply said, "I will explain later", before Eragon accounted for all that had happened since the battle, where among it was how Nasuada had been declared High Queen, and that her ceremony was scheduled later today.

"I guess my hunting trip will have to be postponed then", Mercury thoughtfully said, "do you know where my backpack is? I have something in it, which I brought along just for an occasion such as this".

"I will have someone bring it to you then", Eragon said, before he started to exit the room, closely followed by Arya.

"Wait, one last question", Mercury shouted, "the Word, do you know it?"

Eragon stopped dead in his tracks, before he turned around with a slightly amused face, as he said, "I guess that I should not be surprised that you knew about that as well, but to answer your question. No, his magic clouds my mind and prevents me from remembering it".

"Understood", Mercury said with a small nod, before Eragon and Arya again moved to exit the room.

Not soon after they had left, Mercury felt Kilgharrah's consciousness reach out towards him. _You are up!_, Kilgharrah exclaimed.

_Thanks to you apparently_, Mercury said, before adding in a slightly accusing tone, _what you did was stupid, reckless, dangerous and you really should not have done it...but I am glad that you did_.

Mercury could feel Kilgharrah's happiness across the connection, _you will always be my hen mother_.

_And you will always be my little hatchling_, Mercury lovingly replied, _but I guess that I should rather call you soul brother now_.

Mercury could feel Kilgharrah's confusion, so he sent him his memory of his last moments in the dead realm, along with the part of Angela's memory that detailed his imminent death.

_You knew that you were going to die?_, Kilgharrah asked slightly hurt.

_Actually no, I had forgotten about that prophecy right up until I started to plummet towards the rock cliff_, Mercury answered to soothe the wild dragon's worries.

_I see, why did you not tell Eragon about this?_, Kilgharrah asked.

_How did you- Saphira_, Mercury said slightly surprised, before he added, _I might some day, but right now I only want a select few to know_.

_Is there anything else that you wish to tell me and not them?_, Kilgharrah asked.

_I think you might have given me dragon eyes_, Mercury said and sent Kilgharrah the picture where he first saw himself in the mirror, along with a couple of pictures of how his eyesight had improved.

_Your eyesight was pretty awful before_, Kilgharrah said amused.

_Compared to yours it was, but I need to get dressed for the ceremony this evening, so I cannot get you your deer yet_, Mercury quickly said when a maid turned up, which was carrying his backpack.

_What are you going to wear? Not that I understand you two-legs desire to constantly wear clothes_, Kilgharrah curiously said.

_I have explained it to you several times_, Mercury answered, before continuing in a slightly mystic voice, _and I am going to wear something, which Alagaësia has never seen before_, before he cut off the connection.

* * *

To make something clear, Kilgharrah might have unknowingly given Mercury some of his own life-force, but Mercury does not get any dragon-like abilities, besides the physically changed eyes, which btw holds more significance than I have shown you so far, but I will soon.


	30. A celebration and a decision

I see that nobody has noticed this yet, or at least mentioned it, but I thought that I would like to point it out, as I actually thought quite a lot into it. Remember the song from chapter 20? Well, try to read it again and keep in mind that Mercury had already planned his plan at the time and that he himself says that he never expected his life to ever be resembled by a song.

It is one of my hidden clues/references/details, which I actually have quite a lot of in this story but no one seems to take notice, and I thought that that one was worth to mention.

* * *

**A celebration and a decision**

**Mercury POV  
**Nasuada's ceremony had been quite simple and effective. Eragon had placed a crown, which the dwarves had made of gold, which they had found in the city, and the jewels of the elves' helmets and swords. Afterwards she had declared the celebrations to begin, which were now ongoing.

Mercury had picked up his armour and his sword earlier in the day from Islanzadi and thanked her for her gift of restoring them, although she had gone a bit further than just restoring the armour, as she had had her finest weavers weave silver strings into an intricate but completely beautiful flowing almost treelike pattern on his torso and his bracers, but she had assured him that the silver strings had been enchanted to not shine when lighted on, as others would, but merely give a prestigious look to it. She had also commented on how the silver pattern now fitted well with his eyes, which she too had been quite surprised at seeing.

At the crowning and later at the celebration, Mercury had chosen to wear the one suit, which he had brought with him, because as he had reasoned to Kilgharrah: "I may look completely out of place, but I have dragged this thing along for far too long to not use it when an occasion finally arises". The suit was comprised of a light blue shirt with a broad silk tie with dark red and dark blue coloured slanted stripes with small white dots adorning it. The outer jacket was a Black-blue 2 buttoned wool jacket, which had a similar pair of pants with them, and on his feet were some black leather dress shoes.

In the other world, this suit would have been considered quite fitting for a celebration, but in this world it simply stood out like a tulip among lilies. This combined with his new eyes had caused quite a few of especially the humans to avoid him, but while simultaneously trying to make sure that they did not seem like they were avoiding him. Mercury had guessed that his mere appearance unnerved many of them, but he simply did not care about such meaningless trifles, as how he presented himself to the public at the moment, besides all he needed to do to avoid their attention was to either have them notice a kull or simply to evade sight in the shadows.

Eragon and Arya had been among the first to take a dance, when the musicians had started playing, although they still kept a respectable distance from one another, which Mercury guessed to be because they simply did not want anyone to know about them yet. Kilgharrah had taken to drinking some mead with Saphira during the celebrations, which Mercury had warned him about drinking too much of, because of the after effects which Mercury had tried to explain to him, but Kilgharrah had simply not listened.

Mercury had been perfectly content with walking in the outskirts of the celebrations, while only occasionally chatting with various people to not seem rude or too suspicious, but his primary objective had been to survey the rooftops and the shadows for would-be-assassins and other members of the Black Hand, which he suspected would certainly strike at such an occasion as this. He had always carried a goblet with him to indicate that he was merrily drinking, although the contents of the goblet were completely alcohol free.

This had gone on for most of the night, until Orik and Eragon had suddenly decided that he should relax some more and have a dance with one of the noble ladies, which they had brought along. As it would have been considered excessively rude to decline the lady, Mercury had agreed to share a dance with her, although the only dance that Mercury knew was the Vienna waltz, which he had learned a couple of years back, but since it was not particularly difficult and that he would lead anyway, the noble lady had quickly caught on.

And so it was that Mercury was currently dancing with the noble lady on the dance floor among so many others, although his focus was completely elsewhere, as he used the steps of the dance to get a chance at viewing the rooftops for possible assassins. His augmented eyesight made the night appear much lighter than it had ever appeared before, which meant that he could now more effectively scan the rooftops for enemies. The darkness of the night had also had the added effect that his pupils were not as narrow as they had been before, and could now almost be considered to be human, which had seemed to be a more calming sight than his daylight eyes.

During one of the swirls of the dance, Mercury spotted something dark moving on one of the rooftops. He was sure that if he had not had his augmented sight, he would not have spotted it, but now he had. The figure was clad in a black cloak and was silently crawling across the rooftop, until he reached a certain point, where he began to crouch. Mercury already knew why the person had taken exactly that place, as he had already considered the best places to fire with as much view as possible but without drawing too much attention, and this place was on his list.

Sure enough, the black clad figure soon took out a medium sized crossbow, which he seemed to be directing at the newly appointed High Queen Nasuada's top general Jörmundur. Mercury guessed that the figure was probably warded and that his bolts were probably enchanted to cut through most wards as well, and since Mercury was reluctant to spoil everyone's night, he decided that it would be far more effective to simply take him out himself, instead of spreading chaos and panic by alerting everyone.

Since Mercury did not know what wards had been used to protect the assassin, he quickly thought of another and much more fitting strategy, which he did while continuing his dancing with the noble lady, so as to not arouse suspicion.

When the assassin fired his crossbow, Mercury used his magic to form an invisible ramp, which was made out of compressed air, so that the bolt's enchantments would not simply break through it. Mercury could only guess at the assassin's expression, as the bolt began to fly upwards and eventually turn towards himself mere metres in front of him. The bolt hit the assassin in the face, and all the enchantments, which the assassin could possibly have had, were broken by the very bolt, which he himself had fired, and he died without as much as making a squeak.

_Almost poetic justice. I will have to retrieve that body before dawn_, Mercury managed to amusedly think to himself in the millisecond after he had ensured the assassin's death, before a gasp from the noble lady in front of him quickly gained his full attention.

"Your...your eyes were glowing", the noble lady managed to stutter out with a look of complete fear and shock on her face.

_My eyes?_, Mercury confusedly thought to himself, before he in a silent but curious voice asked, "all of my eyes or just the pupils or irises?"

"Just your irises", the noble lady managed to answer, before she was hushed by Mercury who said in something, which he hoped was a soothing voice, "it was probably just the silver of my eyes that caught the light of one of the torches. I would not be more concerned about it than if I had had a silver button, which shined in the light".

The noble lady seemed to calm down a bit after his explanation, but Mercury's mind was already spinning, _my irises glow when I perform magic! It might be that they are similar to a gedwëy ignasia in that regard, as both are marks from dragons. This will be most troublesome, as I can no longer simply perform magic without people's notice, not to mention the fact that they will reveal my location if I hide in the dark. I will have to do something about that, perhaps some coloured lenses, if I can manage to make some. They would also ensure that I could once again move around in the streets incognito_.

Mercury quickly finished his dance with the noble lady, which she was apparently quite eager to do too, before he began wandering in the outskirts of the celebration again. His path soon led him near the table of Nasuada, although only one of those present at the table noticed him: the child Elva, who had at the time aged to her physical age of 12.

Mercury knew of her powers and how she had obtained them, and he knew that Nasuada had contracted her to secure her and her staff members, which was why he needed to see her, because she had not fulfilled her end of the bargain. If he had not stopped that assassin, Jörmundur would surely have been killed.

Mercury quickly left the quiet solitude of the shadows and walked straight towards Elva's spot at the table. He could feel the eyes of some of the assembled stare at him, as he strode across the floor in a direct line towards Elva, but his attention was focused on his goal.

When he reached the table, he faintly noticed that everyone at it had stopped what they were doing and were looking at him. No doubt thinking about why he had approached Elva, who no one neared unless they absolutely had to.

"Would you like to dance?", Mercury said with a small fake smile to ease the tension, while he extended his hand to her.

Elva seemed to consider his offer for a moment, before she took his hand and with her grown voice said, "I would be delighted to dance. No one has dared to ask me up yet".

"I cannot imagine why", Mercury responded, as he led her away from the staring people at the table and out on the dance floor, where she was quick to catch on to the dance.

"So, why did you want this dance?", Elva said loud enough for Mercury to easily hear but quiet enough so that those around them would not, while she was simultaneously being twirled around by Mercury.

"Besides the pleasure of your company?", Mercury countered.

"We both know that no one goes near me unless they have to, so I ask again: why did you want this dance?", Elva said in a dead serious adult voice, which did not suit a girl at her age at all.

"There was a man on that rooftop", Mercury said and spun her, so that she had a free view to the roof where the assassin's corpse still was lying, "he was aiming at Jörmundur with an enchanted crossbow, and would have no doubt killed him if I had not intervened".

"Why do you tell me this?", Elva asked in a slightly bored voice.

"Because you are responsible for their security. Where were the nighthawks?", Mercury responded a little bit annoyed at her lack of interest.

"And you stopped him, so there was no need for the nighthawks to get involved", Elva countered, before continuing, "from what I heard about you, I thought you would have already figured that out".

"Well, I needed to be sure", Mercury said with a true grin, before he continued in a questioning voice, "but if you knew that I would use this dance to question you, why did you accept it?"

"As I said: no one has dared to ask me up yet", Elva said with a small grin, "it is because that they fear me and the fact that I can feel everything that is plaguing them, as I can feel everything that is plaguing you".

"So you know?", Mercury said as he spun her again.

"About why you are named Mercury, yes I know", Elva responded, before continuing in a musing voice, "you know we are much alike you and I. We have both been marked by dragons, both of our marks unnerves other people, we do not have a very wide selection of people that we trust and like to spend time with, and as a result we both seek the comfort of solitude".

"Trust is earned through time and effort", Mercury simply responded.

"But how much time do you think that either of us have left?", Elva asked, which hit a cord that Mercury had thought about for some time now, "we both know that although I may look as a 12-year old, I am only 3-years of actual age".

"I know of a place where magic does not exist. It would probably slow down your aging to normal", Mercury offered, while he absentmindedly noted that the song was ending and so would their dance be.

"I know of where you speak, it is where you came from", Elva said and bowed to Mercury, while he bowed back, as was the custom at the ending of a dance, "but I would not want to go there. Alagaësia is my home and always shall be, whether it be for a short while or a long, but what about you? Do you intend to go home, now that your task is finished?", and with that she walked away and left Mercury with a new but important decision to make; one that would affect the rest of his life.

_Go back home?_, Mercury mused to himself, as he retreated back to the shadows, _I did what I set out to do, but I did not expect to actually have the choice of whether or not I could go back. It seemed so much easier to simply acknowledge that I would never see my world again, but now I actually have to make a choice_.

_Could I even go back after what has happened to me?_, Mercury wondered, _I could always use coloured lenses and as often as possible wear sunglasses to hide my eyes. People would think me weird, but nothing that would not beat if they found out the truth. It would solve the issue of whether or not I would age quickly as well, because even though I do not yet know if Elva's condition also applies to me, then there is always the chance_.

_Good, now that it is settled that I can go back, the only question that remains is whether or not I should_, Mercury continued his musings, _if I stay, then I would most certainly end up tracking and killing off members of the Black Hand, but if I go back then I could lead a peaceful life, filled with more knowledge than Alagaësia could even dream of. I might only have a few decades here, but back there I would have almost a century if things continue as they have. I could continue with my education and get a well paid job, but would I be happy there? Would I be content with the monotone workday for the rest of my life, after experiencing this? It is true that I was utterly bored when Eragon arrived, which was a major contributing factor in my decision to come here, but at the time I thought it would simply be there and back again, like a hiking trip, but with much more excitement_.

_I would be also giving up magic, which is something that many can only dream of, along with learning and working with the other races. Elves, Dwarves, urgalgras, dragons, perhaps even werecats, there is so much to learn and so much to do with each, _Mercury thought to himself, before he continued to wrestle with the issue during most of the night, before he found himself sitting atop the wall of Urû'baen, while watching the sun slowly rise in the east.

As the sun slowly rose, Mercury felt a gust of wind besides him, and he did not even have to look to know that it was Kilgharrah who had landed besides him.

_Made a new friend?_, Mercury asked with a smirk.

Kilgharrah quickly understood the undertone, before he in an insulted voice said, _NO! Saphira is like a mother to me_.

_Alright, but for the sake of the dragon's continued survival, I hope that she likes that other male in the green egg, as you two are the only males left in Alagaësia_, Mercury replied with a sly shrug.

_Did anyone not tell you?_, Kilgharrah asked confused.

_Tell me what?_, Mercury responded equally confused.

_There were more dragon eggs where they found the Eldunarya, hundreds even_, Kilgharrah happily replied.

Mercury felt glad for Kilgharrah; because soon he would not have to be so lonely anymore, but at the same time did this brought up another issue and settled another.

_Then we need to soon get going again, because if you want to see the rest of Alagaësia, then you will have to do it before the new hatchlings hatch, as you will be way too busy taking care of them to do it afterwards_, Mercury said amused, while he started to rise_, besides I still need to fulfil my end of our bargains and catch you those deer, not to mention the three favours that I still owe you_.

_Just two favours actually_, Kilgharrah said in a slightly happier voice, _you have already fulfilled one of my favours_.

_What was that?_, Mercury asked confused.

_You came back_, Kilgharrah replied.

_And I am staying here_, Mercury replied to Kilgharrah, before adding to himself, _yes, I am definitely staying here, no matter of whether it is only for a few decades or a lifetime_.

**Time skip(a few months later)**_**  
**_**Eragon POV  
**Eragon was flying across the lush countryside with Saphira, where he was reminiscing what had happened in the last few weeks.

Only a few days after the celebration, Arya had had to follow her mother back to Du Weldenvarden to bury the fallen elves. She had taken the green egg with her, so that it could get a chance to hatch for one of the elves. Their goodbye had been courteous in public, but far more heart-wrenching for Eragon in private, and although they had both promised that this was not the end, she had yet to return any of his letters.

Because of the fealty that almost all of the nobles had sworn to Galbatorix, Nasuada had had to replace many of them with her own generals and staff members, shortly after she had ascended the throne. After Mercury had declared his attention to stay in Alagaësia, she had even tried to make him an earl of an area near Ceunon, but he had declined the offer and proposed a counteroffer, where he would simply get to choose an uninhabitated mountain in the Spine, but had had her sign a document, which said that the holder of this document was free to choose any mountain in the Spine, provided that it was not already settled. His reasons for his choices had been that he did not want to be the earl of somewhere with subjects, as he apparently would be bored with having to govern them, but that he wished for some place where he could build his own place, and that he had always loved the mountains in his old world, but had yet to determine which mountain he would prefer in this world.

Shortly after that, Mercury and Kilgharrah had vanished from the newly renamed Ilirea without a clue on their future whereabouts and with hardly a day's notice. Eragon and especially Saphira had found their absences to be a sad change, because Saphira lost her only other dragon to talk to, and with both the dwarves' and the urgals' return to their own lands, Eragon only had a few people left to talk to in Ilirea.

Nasuada and her generals and staff members had been subjugated to nearly monthly assassination attempts, which were beginning to really annoy Eragon, because he felt like even with Elva nearby, he still could not leave her side for more than a few days before another would attempt to kill her. They had even found a dead assassin on one of the rooftops the day after the celebration, although he appeared to have been killed by his own bolt, which they had found quite strange, but no guards had taken credit for killing him as of yet.

Saphira and he still had trouble in finding a good place for raising the hatchlings, which was beginning to become a sore issue among them. This particular issue would continue to nag at Eragon all through winter, which was only a few months away.

* * *

And so we are nearing an end to this story, as there is only a single chapter left. I hope you have enjoyed it so far.

Content that has not changed from CP's version: Eragon will make the decision to leave Alagaësia for the east. Nasuada will create the mage group to control the mages. Firnen has indeed hatched for Arya. Roran gets to be earl of Palancar valley.


	31. The goodbye

This is the very last chapter of this particular story, but I will be uploading the first chapter of the sequel as an addition to this story, so that you can get an appetizer of what the next will be about and so on.

* * *

**The goodbye**

**Eragon POV  
**Eragon stood alone on the bow of the Talíta, while Saphira and Fírnen were flying around and playing in the sky. He was grateful to Arya for choosing to accompany him on his voyage to the eastern lands, and was even happier that Roran had chosen to come with them a little further, as had Queen Islanzadi.

While thinking of her, Arya strode up beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. It was a simple touch, but one that meant the world to Eragon, because it showed him that she was okay with the contact too, so he smiled gently at her, which she replied in kind.

Although they had shared their true names at Vroengard and become much closer since then, they still had not taken the step to become mates yet. Eragon was not frustrated or sad at this, as he knew that all elven relationships took more time than human relationships, and as Arya had said: "maybe in time, something will become of us".

"Do you think of them and how they will react when they learn about this?", Arya asked in a gentle voice.

Eragon knew she was referring to Mercury and Kilgharrah, who no one had been able to contact ever since they left. The last reports, which Eragon had heard, was that a dragon had been sighted near the coastal city of Narda, but there had also previously been similar reports of one being near Nädindel, Ilia Fëon, Galfni, Reavsten and Kuasta, so Eragon knew not where they could be now.

"They are free to do as they chooses, and when they do learn of where we have gone, then Kilgharrah can choose for himself whether or not he wishes to follow us", Eragon said in a matter of fact voice. He still did not know exactly how he felt about Mercury, as he had killed his brother and had gone behind his back and formed his own plan to kill Galbatorix; a plan which required him to sell out everyone who trusted him. Eragon could understand why he had done so, but he could not completely forgive him, not yet anyway.

"You are still sour about Mercury's plan, are you not", Arya said not as a question, but as a statement of a simple fact.

Eragon gave a simple nod in confirmation, before he watched as Hedarth came into view. It was a simple collection of small wooden buildings, whose only purpose had been to facilitate trade between the elves and the dwarves. Eragon was however confused when he saw that several hundreds of dwarves had gathered at an improvised landing stage, but his confusion was soon turned to joy, as he saw Orik step forth from the dwarves with his hammer Volund held high above his head.

"You did not expect that I would let my own fost brother leave without saying properly goodbye, did you?", Orik shouted.

"Never!", Eragon excitedly shouted back.

Eragon, Arya, Roran, Queen Islanzadi and a few other elves had just gone ashore, while the rest would dock the Talíta further down the Edda-river and stay to guard the Eldunarya and the eggs, before a loud roar shook the very air around them. Eragon recognized the roar as one from a dragon, and turned around to look where it had come from.

From his mind, he could sense Saphira's anxiety at possibly meeting a hostile dragon now, but those worries were soon swept aside as a deep royal purple dragon came soaring through the air from the southwest. The dragon released a torrent of crystal clear flames to greet his fellow dragons, before he angled his wings and began a full on dive towards the ground.

Eragon was sure he heard a yelp of surprise, as the dragon dove towards the ground, and when Kilgharrah in the last moment straightened up and roughly landed on the ground, Eragon could see a small leather saddle on him. The saddle was not overly well done, Brom's old saddle would have looked to be a masterpiece in comparison, as it was a simple construct, which did not even have straps to fasten the legs of the rider.

In the saddle however was Mercury, who was plainly dressed in simple but isolating clothes, which suggested that he had just been at a colder climate. Mercury seemed to be clinging on to Kilgharrah with both his arms and his legs in something that looked like pure shock, before he straightened himself out, jumped down from Kilgharrah and gave him a swat on his front leg, while he obviously told him something mentally, before he looked at Eragon.

It was then that Eragon noticed Mercury's eyes, whose irises had changed to an earthy brown, while his pupils had regained their previous round shape. The sight left Eragon completely confused and without the ability to say anything for a while.

Mercury clearly misinterpreted Eragon's silence for something else, as he began the elven greeting first, while twisting his hand across his sternum in the tradition elven fashion, "Atra estremí ono thelduin".

When Eragon did not reply for a while, Mercury tilted his head slightly in curiosity, before Arya appeared next to Eragon and asked, "have you had your eyes changed back anyway?"

A look of comprehension formed on Mercury's face, before a small chuckle escaped him as he said, "no, I have not, but it is much more easy to avoid attention with regular eyes", and as he said this, he lifted his middle finger to his right eye and lightly poked at it. When he drew his finger back, Eragon could see a small round-shaped transparent, except for the middle were an inner circle of slightly transparent black and an outer ring of brown was visible, object clung to his finger, and when he looked back up at Mercury's eye again, it had regained its silver iris and cat like pupil.

"Arhh, the light!", Mercury exclaimed shortly after he had removed the object, after which he used his left hand to cover his right eye, before he said, "sorry, but the amount of light getting through them is limited, so my pupil needs to adjust to this level of light, but if you do not mind, then I would prefer to put it back in?"

"No, we do not mind", Eragon managed to say, before he watched Mercury use the thumb and index finger of his left hand to completely draw away his eyelids, while he reinserted the object with his right hand.

"Much better", Mercury exclaimed relieved, before he directed his attention back towards Eragon and Arya and said, "I hope we are not too late for the feast that Orik has brought along".

"We were actually just about to begin roasting the nagras", Orik said from behind Eragon, "but how did you know about that?"

"Aye and how did you even know about our departure? It was supposed to have been kept a secret", Eragon added.

A small flicker of Mercury's eyes betrayed something, which Eragon would no doubt have been able to further read in his eyes if the objects had not made them completely emotionless, before Mercury, in a voice that would have made Angela proud of its level of mystery, responded, "I have my ways".

Knowing that Mercury would not give any more information on the subject, even if they pressed him, Eragon decided to simply let it go and enjoy the small time, which he had left.

The feast was a joyous occasion, where dwarven troubadours sang and entertained everyone, while Eragon had the chance to laugh, talk and drink with his friends. Even Mercury seemed to merrily drink from the mead as well, but as the night wore on, Eragon noticed that neither Mercury's reactions, speech nor his movements showed any signs of being the least bit intoxicated, and more than once, Eragon thought that Mercury cast a quick glance out at the forest a little to the east, but his thoughts were cast aside as Arya invited him up to a dance.

**Mercury POV  
**Eragon stayed in Hedarth all of the next day too, a choice which both Orik and Mercury strongly advocated for. Mercury guessed that in Orik's case, he simply wanted to spend more time with Eragon, but in Mercury's case, the choice was more dependent on the fact that he did not want Eragon and Arya to leave while it was so light.

Luckily for Mercury, Eragon and Arya decided to leave after dinner the next day, while only the stars lightly lit the night. Orik had tried to convince them to stay another night, but Eragon had remained adamant in his decision.

After making his goodbyes to Orik, Eragon turned to Mercury and asked him, "what of you two? Is this goodbye as well?"

Mercury lightly shook his head, as he said, "no, not yet anyway. You just go right ahead, as we have something that we need to do before we go, but we will catch up with you a little later".

Eragon faintly nodded at this, before he gave a last bear hug to Orik and began to ride out of Hedarth and towards the east. Mercury stood next to Orik and watched as Eragon, Arya, Roran and Islanzadi rode out of Hedarth, while Saphira and Fírnen flew overhead.

When they were no longer in sight, Mercury quickly turned to Orik and in a completely serious but also hasty voice said, "there are three Black Hand assassins waiting for you in your personal quarters here at Hedarth. I need you to take them alive, while I take care of those waiting to ambush them in the forest".

Orik's facial expression could best be described as one of complete confusion and shock, which Mercury thought was an odd combination for a dwarf.

"How...how did you know, and why did you not tell Eragon and Arya?", Orik managed to stammer forth.

**Start of flashback**  
Mercury was standing in a darkened kitchen, while wearing his full armour with the black scarf covering most of his face, but without the contact lenses, which he had spent so much time making. Only a single candlelight illuminated the place, but Mercury did not even need this to properly see, as his eyes were far better than any human's. Bloodstains could be seen on the walls of the kitchen, and piled up against one of the walls were the bloodied bodies of more than two dozen men.

Next to Mercury was a single wooden table, which had a beaten man chained on top of it by heavy iron chains. The man was still fully conscious, but did not make as much as a sound. His clothes had previously been of good quality and an obvious indicator to his wealth, but now numerous bloodstains covered the ragged remains.

"You know, I sought long and wide for you. I know you are the leader here", Mercury said in a deadly quiet voice, "and I know that you are planning another assassination attempt", before he shouted the man directly into his ear, "WHO IS THE TARGET!"

The beaten man chuckled a coughing chuckle, while he spit blood up on Mercury's face, although most was caught by the scarf, "If you think that I am going to tell you anything, then you have greatly underestimated the Black Hand".

Mercury let out a small malicious chuckle of his own, as he said, "oh, I do not want you to tell me. I want you to show me!", after which he launched a full on mental assault on the man's mind.

He was met with heavy resistance from the man, which had obviously been trained very well, and after about half an hour of mentally struggling against him, Mercury finally ceased his assault with an irritated sigh. Angrily Mercury turned away from the chained man on the table and towards the kitchen table, where a meat knife, a fork, a spoon, a few bowls and some plates were lying, all awaiting to be cleaned.

Mercury absentmindedly reached for the fork, while he thought to himself, _I do not have time to break his defences the usual way. Kilgharrah will be back from his trip in a couple of hours and he should not have to witness this_.

Mercury's gaze then fell upon the fork, which he had picked up. He tested the sharpness of the tips; they were sharp and sturdy enough to plunge through skin, meat and bone, provided that enough force was applied, but not so sharp that it would not be felt.

_It will do_, Mercury grimly mused to himself, as he turned towards the chained beaten man on the table, who was also eyeing the fork with a glint of fear in his eyes.  
**End of flashback**

A slightly mischievous smile graced Mercury's lips, as he answered Orik, "let us just say that...an acquaintance showed me", before his face took on a serious attitude, "and for why I did not tell them. It is quite simple: I did not want to disturb their departure with such trifles as this, because it is a truly pitiful attempt, which would have never succeeded in the first place. It will be hard enough for them to leave without having to decide to leave Alagaësia on the brink of war".

A look of understand settled on Orik's face, as he said, "I see. When you return, I will have them ready for you".

"Thank you", Mercury mumbled, before he mentally asked Kilgharrah, _ready?_

_Ready_, Kilgharrah answered and bent down to allow Mercury to climb up into the saddle.

Kilgharrah changed the colour of his scales to resemble that of the night sky, after which he took off and completely silently flew hard and fast in a circle around the other dragons and into the forest, which Eragon's group had yet to enter.

In the meantime, Mercury removed his contact lenses from his eyes, which made everything look much clearer and brighter, and placed them in a sealed container in an inner pocket. He then equipped his armour and his weapons, but prepared only his right arm-blade, because he did not plan on needing the other hand for anything other than to muffle their screams, as he killed them from behind.

_If they follow their plan, which I have no reason to suspect that they will not, then there will be three on each side of the road a little ahead and two buried in the ground in the road_, Mercury said to Kilgharrah, _I will jump off behind the ones at the right side and kill them there, before I will need you to transport me behind the ones at the left side. Alert me if Eragon's group arrives before I am done_.

And as he had said he would, Mercury jumped off Kilgharrah's back, while Kilgharrah was still flying, and only used his magic to stop his fall immediately before he hit a branch on an oak tree, but without making as much as a rustle, thanks to the enchantments on his armour.

With his improved vision, Mercury was able to accurately tell every detail of all the three assassins on this side, but he was sure that the darkness completely covered him from their view, even if they would stop their insistent staring at the road and turn around. They stood apart from each other, which was good, because then Mercury could silently kill them individually, but they also looked between one another from time to time, which meant that if one was suddenly missing, then the others would raise the alarm.

Mercury knew that they were not in mental contact, as it would have given away their position to anyone who would listen, so he did not fear that by killing one, he would alert the rest, but he had to figure out how to kill them without alerting the others, who periodically checked the others' positions.

After observing them from his vantage point for about five minutes, Mercury was finally confident that he had figured out the pattern; one person would check another's position with a small nod at him, which he would then return, and then there would go about 45 seconds before the next person would check up on the next, which would then wait another 45 seconds, before he checked up on the first.

_If I kill one immediately after he has been checked, then I will only have 45 seconds before the next notices that something is wrong, but if I kill someone who has just checked another, then I will have 90 seconds before the alarm goes_, Mercury mused to himself, as he tried to figure out the best way to eliminate them, _if I kill a person, who has just checked another, then I will have 90 seconds to go on, and if I then move towards the person who will check the person that I just killed and wait for him to be checked, then I will have another 45 seconds plus whatever time is left of the first 90 seconds, which I can then use to kill the last_.

Puzzle solved, Mercury sprung into action and readied himself up and behind his chosen first target and patiently waited for that person to check the next. When the man finally did so, Mercury dropped down behind him, put his left hand on the man's mouth to muffle him, and thrust his blade through the back of the man's neck. His blade cut straight through any wards that they may have set up, thanks to the new enchantments on them, which was put there by Islanzadi's most experienced spellcasters and Rhunön herself.

Task finished, he quickly sprang back up into the tree branches and silently moved towards his next target, who by Mercury's counting of seconds in his head should just have been checked. Mercury killed the man in the same way as the other, but by then, he had come behind schedule, so that he would not be able to make it all the way towards his final target before the time limit ran out.

A plan quickly formed in Mercury's mind, and he immediately sprinted as fast and as silently as he could towards his first dead target, who Mercury then plunged his blade into the back of, in order to hold his body up, while he held his head up with his left hand.

When the times came, Mercury turned the dead man's head towards the last remaining member and nodded the signal towards the man, who unsuspectingly nodded back. Task finished, Mercury dumped the body back on the ground and killed the last man the same way he had killed the previous two, after which he called for Kilgharrah, who immediately but silently picked him up and flew him to the other side, where he did not waste any time in studying or planning on how to kill them, as it was clearly an already agreed system, so he could just use the same procedure as with the other side.

This time, it worked without him having to resort to using a dead body to trick the last living member, which only left the two buried in the road. Mercury's eyes could faintly see the outline of where the people had buried themselves, and to his luck, they had buried themselves less than two metres apart from each other.

_They are coming!_, Kilgharrah warned Mercury.

_Understood_, Mercury replied, _be ready to pick me up from the road in 10 seconds, and then we can fly towards the Talíta_.

While he had talked with Kilgharrah, Mercury had prepared his other arm-blade and had moved into position on a branch, which extended the farthest out onto the road from his side of the wood. He then took a deep breath, before he sprinted along the branch out onto the road, and then jumped down with his blades first, towards the ground, at the site where the two assassins were lying.

The blades sank into the dirt and Mercury just managed to faintly hear a couple of gasps emanating from the ground, before Kilgharrah swooped down and grabbed him in his talons and flew high into the sky and away from the forest.

While on their way across the small final stretch of land between the forest and the Talíta, Mercury changed out from his armour and into the clothes, which he had previously been wearing, as he did not want to alert them by simply forgetting such a trivial matter.

After setting down on the ground, Mercury with the help of Blödhgarn and a few other elves began to remove Kilgharrah's saddle, along with Mercury's backpack, from Kilgharrah's back. Kilgharrah was pleased with this, as he complained that having a saddle just did not feel right with him, which Mercury could only chuckle at.

Soon after, Eragon's group arrived as well, and they were only mildly surprised to see Mercury and Kilgharrah already there. After Eragon had said his goodbyes to Roran and Arya had said hers to her mother, they both turned towards Mercury and Kilgharrah and said a single word, "now?"

Mercury closed his eyes, as he nodded to them and said, "yes, now we say goodbye", before he turned his gaze towards Kilgharrah, and while he lifted a hand to stroke the dragon's muzzle, he said, "to you as well".

_What, why are you saying goodbye?_, Kilgharrah thought back with confusion and a little bit of fear in his voice.

_You must go with the eggs and help raise them_, Mercury tried to soothingly explain, _your species survival will need your guidance_.

_Why can you not come with me then?_, Kilgharrah countered deeply saddened.

_I still have work to do here in Alagaësia, you know this_, Mercury firmly but somehow still soothingly said, _I have had a view into how the Black Hand's organization is built up, and I am among the best suited to take them down. I am beyond grateful for your forcing your way into my life, but this is where we must say goodbye for now_.

Kilgharrah faintly nodded at this, while a single draconic tear fell from his eye, which Mercury quickly brushed away with the hand that was not already stroking Kilgharrah's muzzle, before he said, _be strong Kilgharrah. I will always drop everything for you if you are ever in any trouble, but I might not be able to visit you for the few decades, which my work is going to take_.

_You called me by my name_, Kilgharrah exclaimed with a bit of joy mixed into his sadness.

_You grew up_, Mercury thought back with an equal small bit of joy, _raise the new hatchlings well, and remember that you are an example to them_, before Mercury stepped back from Kilgharrah and went over to Eragon and Arya, where he simply said, "take care of him".

"We will", they replied, before they arm in arm walked aboard the Talíta with Blödhgarn's elves as an honour guard on each side of them.

As the ship began to sail away, Kilgharrah jumped into the air to follow it, while Roran gave a long mournful cry on the left side of Islanzadi, while Islanzadi shed a few tears in the middle and laid a hand on Mercury's left shoulder, on her right side, to show her comfort of his sorrow at separating from Kilgharrah. There they were: a hero of the masses, a leader of her people, and what could currently best be described as an assassin, willing to do almost whatever it takes to achieve his goal. All of them unified in watching their various loved ones sail away to unknown lands.

_Goodbye, hatchling_, Mercury sadly mused to himself, _it is best that you leave now, for soon the war will officially break out. I made my decision to stay and fight in it, but you must not share the fate of this decision with me_.

* * *

So what do you think about the story? Did the ending destroy your picture of Mercury or did it just confirm or add something to your existing picture of him?


End file.
